The director of the International Labor Organization (ILO) on Monday described the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the world of work as “catastrophic” and far worse than that of the 2008 financial crisis.
At the opening of the ILO’s two-week ministerial conference, Director-General Guy Ryder also warned of an uneven economic recovery after the pandemic, partly caused by inequalities in vaccine distribution.
“The impact has been devastating, catastrophic,” he said. “Taken together, this represents a crisis in the world of work four times more severe than the one triggered by the financial crisis of 2008-2009.”
The United Nations body said last week that it expects at least 220 million people to remain unemployed this year worldwide and that jobs lost due to the pandemic will not recover until at least 2023.
“As we increasingly look at the recovery process with some economies growing rapidly, very rapidly and now jobs being created at high speed, I think we need to be aware of how uneven the recovery will be if it continues on its current trajectory,” said Ryder .
