Authors: Michael Weber, Amparo Palacios-Lopez and Ivette Contreras-González The first wave of empirical results from rapid phone surveys in Sub Saharan Africa (Ethiopia, Malawi, Nigeria and Uganda) confirm the devastating labor market impacts of the pandemic. But they also show that the jobs impacts are heterogeneous, with particularly severe impacts on the urban informal…
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Photo credit: World Bank / Sambrian Mbaabu Author: Piotr Lewandowski The COVID-19 pandemic created a dual challenge of containing the spread of the virus, and preserving jobs and livelihoods as countries all over the world adopted restrictions in economic activity and mobility of people. At the Jobs and Development Conference 2020, we convened a special…
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Author: Kunal Sen Seven months into the unprecedented crisis of COVID-19, we already see significant effects on employment and earnings worldwide. The fallout of #COVID19 could see poverty rise for the first time in over two decades — up to half a billion people could fall into global poverty in developing countries Share on X –…
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Internet cafe in the neighborhood of Nyamirambo in Kigali, Rwanda. (Sarah Farhat/ World Bank) By Aparna Krishnamurthy, Namita Datta, Georges V. Houngbonon, Todd Cotts Broadband (or high-speed) internet access plays a major role in economic growth and job creation. COVID-19 has accelerated the transition to home-based work, reinforcing the need for broadband connectivity. A recent World…
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By Veronica Michel & Ian Walker In Honduras, as in other Latin American countries, increased labor incomes have been central to reducing poverty. However, many are still under-employed, so households have the potential to earn more. This calls for increased attention on ways to increase labor intensity, instead of focusing only on increasing the productivity…
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Photo by Courtney Hall on Unsplash Authors: Mauro Testaverde and Gordon Betcherman The COVID-19 pandemic has affected labor markets everywhere. In some countries, like the US and Canada, unemployment skyrocketed to levels not seen in living memory. In others, including several in Europe, things have looked very different, with few layoffs and workers often remaining attached to their…
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During the COVID-19 pandemic, many young people around the globe have been working remotely, schools have moved to online platforms, and social distancing continues to be in effect. This means it’s essential that organizations maximize the use of social media as a platform to adapt to the crisis. Social media has been used by young people to raise awareness about coronavirus containment and suppression measures, to coordinate the logistics of relief efforts for people in isolation, and to raise funds for emergency workers.
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Authors: KAVELL JOSEPH Original post The World Bank Group has been helping countries reinforce their health infrastructure and bolster economic recovery during the pandemic. The Bank’s health response addresses emergency containment and mitigation needs for the coronavirus (COVID-19), including strengthening countries’ health systems to treat severe cases and save lives. Many members of the Bank-supported…
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Authors: KAVELL JOSEPH Many low- and middle-income countries can’t provide skills training for young entrepreneurs to adapt to the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19). But youth themselves are playing an essential role in their communities by offering technological solutions to the problem. Here are two S4YE Youth Advisory Group (YAG) members who have risen…
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Photo credit: Ketut Subiyanto from Pexels Authors: Amanina Abdur Rahman, Achim Schmillen, and Alyssa Farha Jasmin The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a jobs crisis in developing countries in East Asia. The International Labour Organization estimates that in the second quarter of 2020 working hours across East Asia will decline by around 8.4 percent…
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