Datastream
One Year In: How the Pandemic Impacted Employment Around the World
The Briefing
- The global pandemic had a significant impact on average working hours across the globe
- In 2020, 8.8% of global working hours were lost compared to Q4’2019
- The amount of working hours lost in 2020 is equal to 255 million full-time jobs
How the Pandemic Impacted Employment Around the World
One year in, the global pandemic has impacted employment and changed the nature of work in a multitude of ways.
As job loss rose across the globe, many countries introduced job retention schemes to steady unemployment rates. At the same time, working hours for many who held on to their jobs were reduced.
To put it in perspective, COVID-19’s negative impact on working hours globally has been around 4x more than that caused by the Global Financial Crisis in 2009.
Working Hard or Hardly Working?
As of January 2021, an estimated 93% of the world’s workforce lives in a country with some type of workplace closure restrictions still in place.
While profits were slashed across many industries, a majority of companies actually avoided firing people. However, 64% of firms either reduced wages, hours, or furloughed workers temporarily.
Compared to Q4’2019, total global working hours were reduced 8.8% in 2020. This is equivalent to approximately 255 million jobs.
Here’s a look at the working hour losses in a number of different countries.
Country | 2020 Work Hour Losses Compared to Q4'2019 |
---|---|
Peru | 27.5% |
Honduras | 24.3% |
Panama | 23.5% |
Argentina | 21.0% |
Colombia | 20.9% |
Bolivia | 20.5% |
El Salvador | 19.4% |
Ecuador | 17.6% |
Costa Rica | 17.5% |
Nepal | 17.4% |
Armenia | 16.8% |
Chile | 16.7% |
Guatemala | 16.4% |
Kuwait | 16.4% |
Dominican Republic | 15.5% |
Brazil | 14.9% |
Bahamas | 14.8% |
Eritrea | 14.7% |
Turkey | 14.7% |
Cyprus | 14.6% |
Azerbaijan | 14.1% |
Morocco | 14.1% |
North Macedonia | 13.8% |
India | 13.7% |
Venezuela | 13.7% |
Philippines | 13.6% |
South Africa | 13.6% |
Italy | 13.5% |
Myanmar | 13.4% |
Portugal | 13.4% |
Cape Verde | 13.3% |
Spain | 13.2% |
Georgia | 13.1% |
Oman | 13.1% |
United States Virgin Islands | 13.0% |
Moldova | 12.9% |
Slovakia | 12.8% |
United Kingdom | 12.8% |
Greece | 12.6% |
Cuba | 12.5% |
Guyana | 12.5% |
Ireland | 12.5% |
Mexico | 12.5% |
Bangladesh | 12.2% |
Uganda | 12.2% |
Bhutan | 11.9% |
Suriname | 11.8% |
Kyrgyzstan | 11.7% |
Algeria | 11.6% |
Kazakhstan | 11.5% |
Maldives | 11.4% |
Paraguay | 11.4% |
Jamaica | 11.3% |
Trinidad and Tobago | 11.3% |
Uruguay | 11.2% |
Belize | 11.1% |
Malaysia | 11.1% |
Iraq | 10.8% |
Malta | 10.6% |
Austria | 10.5% |
Barbados | 10.4% |
Jordan | 10.4% |
Lebanon | 10.3% |
Eswatini | 9.9% |
Sri Lanka | 9.9% |
Saint Lucia | 9.8% |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | 9.7% |
Guam | 9.6% |
Egypt | 9.5% |
Ethiopia | 9.5% |
Kenya | 9.5% |
Qatar | 9.5% |
Rwanda | 9.4% |
Canada | 9.3% |
Congo | 9.3% |
Libya | 9.3% |
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 9.3% |
United Arab Emirates | 9.3% |
Israel | 9.2% |
Pakistan | 9.2% |
United States | 9.2% |
Sudan | 9.1% |
Zimbabwe | 9.1% |
Bahrain | 9.0% |
Liberia | 9.0% |
Guinea-Bissau | 8.9% |
Nigeria | 8.9% |
Sao Tome and Principe | 8.9% |
Romania | 8.8% |
Ukraine | 8.8% |
South Sudan | 8.7% |
Angola | 8.6% |
Hong Kong | 8.6% |
Puerto Rico | 8.6% |
Equatorial Guinea | 8.5% |
Russia | 8.5% |
Uzbekistan | 8.5% |
Chad | 8.4% |
France | 8.4% |
Gabon | 8.3% |
Saudi Arabia | 8.3% |
Indonesia | 8.2% |
Western Sahara | 8.2% |
Slovenia | 8.0% |
Montenegro | 7.8% |
Singapore | 7.8% |
Syria | 7.8% |
Gambia | 7.7% |
Guinea | 7.6% |
Haiti | 7.6% |
Serbia | 7.5% |
Lesotho | 7.4% |
Tonga | 7.4% |
Belgium | 7.3% |
Comoros | 7.1% |
Madagascar | 6.9% |
Djibouti | 6.8% |
Mauritius | 6.7% |
Democratic Republic of the Congo | 6.6% |
Afghanistan | 6.5% |
Botswana | 6.4% |
Fiji | 6.3% |
Germany | 6.3% |
Iceland | 6.3% |
Senegal | 6.3% |
Lithuania | 6.1% |
Bulgaria | 6.0% |
Tunisia | 6.0% |
Channel Islands | 5.9% |
Iran | 5.9% |
Namibia | 5.9% |
French Polynesia | 5.7% |
Croatia | 5.5% |
Japan | 5.4% |
Mauritania | 5.3% |
Vanuatu | 5.3% |
Hungary | 5.2% |
Mozambique | 5.2% |
Sweden | 5.2% |
Vietnam | 5.2% |
Malawi | 5.1% |
Central African Republic | 5.0% |
Togo | 4.9% |
Cambodia | 4.8% |
Samoa | 4.8% |
Australia | 4.7% |
Ghana | 4.7% |
Estonia | 4.5% |
Thailand | 4.5% |
Brunei Darussalam | 4.4% |
North Korea | 4.4% |
Czech Republic | 4.3% |
Laos | 4.3% |
Netherlands | 4.3% |
Cameroon | 4.2% |
Côte d'Ivoire | 4.2% |
China | 4.1% |
Albania | 3.9% |
Taiwan | 3.9% |
Sierra Leone | 3.8% |
Switzerland | 3.8% |
Turkmenistan | 3.8% |
South Korea | 3.7% |
Luxembourg | 3.7% |
Nicaragua | 3.7% |
New Caledonia | 3.5% |
Poland | 3.5% |
Denmark | 3.3% |
Latvia | 3.3% |
Mali | 3.3% |
Benin | 3.2% |
Tajikistan | 3.2% |
Timor-Leste | 2.7% |
Burkina Faso | 2.6% |
Zambia | 2.6% |
Mongolia | 2.5% |
Norway | 2.5% |
Somalia | 2.5% |
Macau | 1.9% |
Papua New Guinea | 1.8% |
Solomon Islands | 1.8% |
Tanzania | 1.8% |
Belarus | 1.3% |
Finland | 1.3% |
Yemen | 1.3% |
Niger | 1.1% |
New Zealand | 0.8% |
Burundi | -0.1% |
The loss of working hours has impacted Southern Europe, South Asia, the Americas, and the Caribbean most significantly. Not surprisingly, these regions are all heavily reliant on tourism and hospitality to fuel their economies.
Job Losses and the Future of Work
Working hour losses, however, do not just come from reductions in hours. The ILO approximates that the blame for working hour losses can be shared equally, with around half due to job losses and half due to a reduction in working hours.
Worldwide employment losses in 2020 were equal to 114 million jobs.
However, a large number of people have notably been deemed ‘inactive,’ rather than unemployed, reducing the global labor force participation rate overall.
Although a rebound in working hours and jobs is expected in 2021, the pandemic’s effects on how we work, and the kinds jobs that are available will have a deeper long-term effect on the global labor force participation.
» Want to learn more? Check out our COVID-19 information hub to help put the past year into perspective
Where does this data come from?
Source: ILO
Details: The source defines workers as individuals aged 15-64. Full time jobs are defined using a 40 hour or 48 hour work week depending on the country. Additionally, the ILO used a multitude of national data sources on unemployment, furlough schemes, etc. to calculate working hour losses. Their methodology can be explored further here.
Economy
Charted: Public Trust in the Federal Reserve
Public trust in the Federal Reserve chair has hit its lowest point in 20 years. Get the details in this infographic.

The Briefing
- Gallup conducts an annual poll to gauge the U.S. public’s trust in the Federal Reserve
- After rising during the COVID-19 pandemic, public trust has fallen to a 20-year low
Charted: Public Trust in the Federal Reserve
Each year, Gallup conducts a survey of American adults on various economic topics, including the country’s central bank, the Federal Reserve.
More specifically, respondents are asked how much confidence they have in the current Fed chairman to do or recommend the right thing for the U.S. economy. We’ve visualized these results from 2001 to 2023 to see how confidence levels have changed over time.
Methodology and Results
The data used in this infographic is also listed in the table below. Percentages reflect the share of respondents that have either a “great deal” or “fair amount” of confidence.
Year | Fed chair | % Great deal or Fair amount |
---|---|---|
2023 | Jerome Powell | 36% |
2022 | Jerome Powell | 43% |
2021 | Jerome Powell | 55% |
2020 | Jerome Powell | 58% |
2019 | Jerome Powell | 50% |
2018 | Jerome Powell | 45% |
2017 | Janet Yellen | 45% |
2016 | Janet Yellen | 38% |
2015 | Janet Yellen | 42% |
2014 | Janet Yellen | 37% |
2013 | Ben Bernanke | 42% |
2012 | Ben Bernanke | 39% |
2011 | Ben Bernanke | 41% |
2010 | Ben Bernanke | 44% |
2009 | Ben Bernanke | 49% |
2008 | Ben Bernanke | 47% |
2007 | Ben Bernanke | 50% |
2006 | Ben Bernanke | 41% |
2005 | Alan Greenspan | 56% |
2004 | Alan Greenspan | 61% |
2003 | Alan Greenspan | 65% |
2002 | Alan Greenspan | 69% |
2001 | Alan Greenspan | 74% |
Data for 2023 collected April 3-25, with this statement put to respondents: “Please tell me how much confidence you have [in the Fed chair] to recommend the right thing for the economy.”
We can see that trust in the Federal Reserve has fluctuated significantly in recent years.
For example, under Alan Greenspan, trust was initially high due to the relative stability of the economy. The burst of the dotcom bubble—which some attribute to Greenspan’s easy credit policies—resulted in a sharp decline.
On the flip side, public confidence spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic. This was likely due to Jerome Powell’s decisive actions to provide support to the U.S. economy throughout the crisis.
Measures implemented by the Fed include bringing interest rates to near zero, quantitative easing (buying government bonds with newly-printed money), and emergency lending programs to businesses.
Confidence Now on the Decline
After peaking at 58%, those with a “great deal” or “fair amount” of trust in the Fed chair have tumbled to 36%, the lowest number in 20 years.
This is likely due to Powell’s hard stance on fighting post-pandemic inflation, which has involved raising interest rates at an incredible speed. While these rate hikes may be necessary, they also have many adverse effects:
- Negative impact on the stock market
- Increases the burden for those with variable-rate debts
- Makes mortgages and home buying less affordable
Higher rates have also prompted many U.S. tech companies to shrink their workforces, and have been a factor in the regional banking crisis, including the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.
Where does this data come from?
Source: Gallup (2023)
Data Notes: Results are based on telephone interviews conducted April 3-25, 2023, with a random sample of –1,013—adults, ages 18+, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. For results based on this sample of national adults, the margin of sampling error is ±4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. See source for details.
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