Covid-19: Unemployment and Human Realities

 

Unemployment post Covid-19 outbreak has risen phenomenally, globally. The demographics affected most by the pandemic are women and youth. According to OECD June 2020 news release, unemployment among women rose to 9.1% compared to 7.9% among men. Youth unemployment has risen to 17.6%. These estimates indicate a rise of greater than 3% among the affected category from previous years estimates. These figures are higher in rest of the world.

 

The International Labor Organization report post Covid-19 indicates that regionally, the Americas are worst hit by unemployment, where hourly work has fallen 18.3% followed by 13.9% in Europe, 13.5% in Asia and the Pacific, 13.2% in Arab states and 12.1% in Africa. The sectors worst hit are informal sectors such as the gig economy and service-industry staff with no social protections, migrant, agricultural, or shift workers in the developing world. These may just be numbers but the human realities behind these numbers have disproportionately affected the vulnerable in the global society.

 

“An "unemployed" existence is a worse negation of life than death itself.”

 José Ortega Y Gasset, The Revolt of the Masses

 

Mental health of the unemployed post Covid-19 is also startling. According to World Health Organization, Dr Petsanis, a neurologist by training said:

 

“Just the fact of someone wondering if he is positive for COVID is like having a stigma and something that is threatening his life… and that affects, of course, his behavior. We know very well that panic leads to bad behavior and to psychosomatic problems as well, and that brings on somatic problems very, very easily”

 

He also iterated that unemployment is a cause of greater stress that can lead to heart disease, linking Great Economic Depression to unemployment, he stated:

 

“We had so much stress before World War II that too many people got rheumatoid cardiopathies correlated with unemployment. Actually, it wasn’t just correlation, causation was established. We know that stress kills, first of all because it provokes two things, vaso-spasm in the vascular system and immunodepression, the suppression of the immune system.”

 

This pandemic has highlighted the need for social protections from low wage employees, unemployed and vulnerable communities. The argument that pits public health against economy in a pandemic is a false dichotomy. Only adequate public health ensures sustainable economic recovery. Investing in people can only assure that another global crises of this magnitude can be averted.

 

The need for international cooperation is heightened after this crisis. This will be a test for governments to create policies that are inclusive based on human realities by protecting marginalized communities, mobilizing youth and ensuring gender equality post Covid-19 can boost recovery of affected economies. It will also be beneficial to re-skill the labor force and ensure employment in both public and private sectors.

 

If these staggering unemployment figures continue to rise, we may not see a sustainable economic recovery, that is United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), anytime soon.

 

It may be a novel corona virus but the solutions required to cope with the crises are not novel. 

 

If you have experienced post Covid-19 unemployment, do leave a comment on the human realities of this challenge and let us know your reflections on scenarios and solutions for this crisis. 

 

Your thoughts matter to us at Polyown Think Tank!