COVID‑19: From a health to a jobs crisis
OECD
Abstract
The COVID‑19 outbreak and its rapid diffusion across the globe have turned into the worst public health crisis in living memory. The pandemic forced countries to impose strict containment and mitigation policies and severely affected social and economic activities, driving the global economy to a major recession. Most countries responded quickly and put in place, from the very first stages of the crisis, an unprecedented package of labour market and social policies aiming at reducing the economic shock and supporting workers, their families and companies. This chapter provides a first assessment of the initial labour market impact of the COVID‑19 crisis and a review of countries’ wide set of policy responses. It also provides some reflections on how countries could adapt the measures taken in the first months of the crisis as they start softening mitigation policies.