This paper provides an overview of the evolution of the COVID-19-induced health and labour market crises in the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), drawing on a large set of available data and sources. It highlights how the outbreak is affecting jobs and incomes via multiple channels of transmission. It looks at policy responses so far and provides some suggestions for national employment and economic policies, as well as international support to help LDCs on their path to a job-rich recovery and future resilience.
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Global Dynamic & Politics
This report by Unily is part of a wider mission to uncover what drives employees and how global trends will impact the way we work in years to come.
Deloitte’s 2020 Global Human Capital Trends report examines the new possibilities arising from the Covid-19 crisis, revealing that the crisis has accelerated a shift to a more purpose-driven and resilient workforce. The report underscores the need for redesigning work to prioritise well-being, leveraging technology as a collaborator rather than a replacement, and adopting a data-driven approach to understand workers’ attributes, needs and dimensions to segment their workforce accordingly. It challenges organisations to reexamine whether humanity and technology are truly in conflict and to consider how it is possible to resolve the seeming paradox of finding ways to remain distinctly human in a technology-driven world.
This paper from the United Nations presents the general concept of a just transition of the workforce, and the creation of decent work and quality jobs (‘just transition’), including the drivers and objectives of such transitions. The report discusses the linkages between just transition and the implementation of climate change mitigation policies, finding that employment will be affected in four ways as climate policies reorient the economy towards greater sustainability: job creation, job substitution, job elimination and job transformation.
The Department of Education’s latest Working Futures report reveals that despite an overall increase in the working-age population and economically active workforce, labour market participation rates are expected to slightly decline due to an ageing population. The female labour force is expected to increase faster than the male labour force, reflecting the increasing participation of women in the labour market and the gradual increasing pension age for women.
The 2020 Edelman Trust Barometer reveals that despite a strong global economy and near full employment, none of the four societal institutions that the study measures—government, business, NGOs and media—is trusted. The cause of this paradox can be found in people’s fears about the future and their role in it, which are a wake-up call for our institutions to embrace a new way of effectively building trust: balancing competence with ethical behaviour.
As the barrier between work and personal time erodes, a global campaign to help workers reclaim their right to disconnect from their jobs was launched. Lead by UNI Global Union’s Professionals & Managers (UNI P&M) the campaign was rolled out worldwide with the help of the first-ever guide to negotiating for digital disconnection.
This report from Ipsos analyses data from over 18,000 adults across 27 countries, finding that a majority of citizens across the world feel left out of the “normal order” of life in their country, with 70% agreeing the economy is rigged to favour the rich and powerful and many seeking more hands-on leadership and a lean towards citizen-first views.
This article by the ONS considers the impact of the UK’s ageing population, old-age dependency, and the role of international migration to meet associated challenges.
The article proposes an alternative approach to measuring population ageing and economic activity - the Active Dependency Ratio (ADR). It suggests that international migration will have less of an effect on potential old-age economic dependency compared to the projected future growth in older workers.