The report examines the impacts of the crisis on global and regional trends in employment, unemployment, and labour force participation, as well as on job quality, informal employment and working poverty.

It analyses global patterns, regional differences and outcomes across economic sectors and groups of workers, and offers labour market projections for 2022 and 2023.

The main outcomes are the following: 

• Global labour markets struggle to recover: the Covid-19 pandemic dominated the global economy also in 2021 and recovery is following different patterns across geographies and sectors. ILO expects total hours worked globally in 2022 below the pre-pandemic level when adjusted for population growth, corresponding to a deficit of 52 million full-time equivalent jobs (assuming one week of work). Global unemployment is expected to reach 207 million in 2022, exceeding the 2019 level by about 21 million. The outlook is most negative for Latin America and the Caribbean and South-East Asia. These previsions have deteriorated since the projections made in the previous edition of World Employment and Social Outlook.
• Pandemic disruptions, structural deficiencies and new risks reduce the potential for decent work to be created: the impact of the crisis also depends on structural deficiencies and inequalities between countries. In many developing countries, informal enterprises have been less able to access formal lines of credit or Covid-19-related government support. There is the need for concerted policies to accelerate labour market recovery, tackle inequalities and return the global economy to a path of sustainable growth.
• Labour market recovery is unequal and incomplete: Labour market recovery is faster in high-income countries and unequal within countries. The pandemic has started to induce economic changes that could become structural, with enduring implications for labour markets, deepening various forms of inequality, from exacerbating gender inequity to widening the digital divide.
• Temporary work as a buffer in times of economic uncertainty: as in previous crises, temporary employment created a buffer against the shock of the pandemic. While many temporary jobs were terminated or not renewed, alternative ones were created, including for workers who had lost permanent jobs. On average, the incidence of temporary work did not change.
• Prevention of long-lasting damage requires a comprehensive human-centred policy agenda: the WESO Trends also offers a summary of key policy recommendations aimed at creating a fully inclusive, human-centred recovery from the crisis at both national and international levels. They are based on the Global Call to Action for a Human-Centred Recovery from the COVID-19 Crisis that Is Inclusive, Sustainable and Resilient, that was adopted by the ILO’s International Labour Conference in June 2021. Recovery will require the successful implementation of four key pillars: inclusive economic growth and development, protection of all workers, universal social protection, and social dialogue.