GENEVA (ILO News) — The continued sharp decline in working hours globally due to the COVID-19 outbreak means that 1.6 billion workers in the informal economy — nearly half of the global workforce — stand in immediate danger of having their livelihoods destroyed, warns the International Labour Organization.
According to the ILO Monitor third edition: COVID-19 and the world of work, the drop in working hours in the second quarter of 2020 is expected to be significantly worse than previously estimated. Compared to pre-crisis levels, a 10.5 per cent deterioration is now expected, equivalent to 305 million full-time jobs. The previous estimate was for a 6.7 per cent drop, equivalent to 195 million full-time workers. This is due to the prolongation and extension of lockdown measures.
The first month of the crisis is estimated to have resulted in a drop of 60 per cent in the income of informal workers globally, translating into a drop of 81 per cent in Africa and the Americas, 21.6 per cent in Asia and the Pacific, and 70 per cent in Europe and Central Asia.
Worldwide, more than 436 million enterprises face high risks of serious disruption, operating in the hardest-hit economic sectors, including 232 million in wholesale and retail, 111 million in manufacturing, 51 million in accommodation and food services, and 42 million in real estate and other business activities.
“For millions of workers, no income means no food, no security and no future. Millions of businesses around the world are barely breathing. They have no savings or access to credit. These are the real faces of the world of work. If we don’t help them now, they will simply perish,” said ILO Director-General Guy Ryder.