Economics
In News: World of work – the ninth edition of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Monitor was published
Key findings
- The report says that after significant gains during the last quarter of 2021, the number of hours worked globally dropped in the first quarter of 2022, to 3.8% below the employment situation before the pandemic.
- About 11.2 crore jobs might have lost between this period, according to the report.
- The report added that a “great and growing divergence between richer and poorer economies” continues to characterise the recovery.
- While high-income countries experienced a recovery in hours worked, low- and lower-middle-income economies suffered setbacks in the first quarter of the year with a 3.6 and 5.7 per cent gap respectively when compared to the pre-crisis benchmark
- The fresh lockdowns in China, the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, and the global rise in the prices of food and fuel are cited as the main reasons for the findings.
- The ILO urged its member countries to take a humane approach to address the situation.
Findings related to India
- The report said both India and lower-middle-income experienced a deterioration of the gender gap in work hours in the second quarter of 2020
- It report said that for every 100 women at work prior to the pandemic, 12.3 women would have lost their job as an average through the entire period considered by the report.
- In contrast, for every 100 men, the equivalent figure would have been 7.5.
- Hence, the pandemic seems to have exacerbated the already substantial gender imbalances in employment participation in the country.
Previous Year Questions (PYQs)
Q.1) The Global Competitiveness Report is published by the (2019)
- International Monetary Fund
- United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
- World Economic Forum
- World Bank
Source: The Hindu
