Published on September 10th, 2020 | by Bibhuranjan

The Main Facts About How The Coronavirus Changed The IT Market

Since the beginning of 2020 the words “coronavirus” and “Covid-19” have penetrated into the headlines of almost all world publications – including sites that write about games and movies.

In terms of mortality rate, this epidemic does not set records, but Covid-19 is very contagious and often runs asymptomatically as long as its carrier continues to infect people around it.

It is this property of coronavirus that has put an end to almost all the loud mass events of the first half of 2020.

Global labor market

According to the International Labour Organization, half the world’s workers could lose their livelihoods because of the pandemic. The population has already suffered losses of about $3.4 trillion.

– We should prepare for a record reduction in GDP, the Coronavirus Pandemic continues to destroy the economy. The period from April 1 to June 30 will be the worst period in the history of observation since 1945, – write the analysts of the Swiss bank Credit Suisse.

GDP may decline by $9 trillion this year and next year – if the pandemic manages to be controlled by the middle of the year. No – the losses will be higher. And the effect of the crisis will be felt by all the world’s economies until 2025.

How does it affect workers all over the world?

1. The labor force is being redistributed, “like after the Second World War”.

Suddenly, some professions are in demand and there is no longer any other. So Walmart announced that it wants to hire 150 thousand hourly employees, the medical company CVS is looking for 50 thousand doctors who were not needed yesterday.

Jobs growth in the U.S. by profession

In the top – truck drivers, warehouse loaders, online sellers, storekeepers and care assistants for the elderly.

Growing: trucking, delivery services, pharmaceuticals and medical products manufacturers, telemedicine, cloud and video conferencing services, online security services, streaming and gaming resources.

Falling: service sector, international transportation, offline sales, entertainment, tourism. Thus, Airbnb recently laid off 1900 employees (25% of the total staff), TripAdvisor – 900 (25%).

– There was a rapid redistribution of labor, which has not existed since the Second World War – writes the American investment company Bond Capital.

2. Unofficially employed remain unemployed

An informal worker is one who is not officially registered. This means he does not have any social guarantees. Informal work is characterized by unsafe and unhealthy working conditions, low skill level, unstable or low earnings.

Because of the pandemic, almost 1.6 billion workers employed in the informal economy (more than people in China and almost half the world’s workforce) may be left without sources of income.

In the first month of the global lockdown, their income fell by 60%. In Africa and Latin America, they fell 81% or more. This further exacerbates the gap between rich and poor.

The expected increase in relative poverty rates among informal workers after the pandemic.

In South Africa, civil society activists are demanding a “Living Cash Grant” for such workers. In New York, they are calling for a basic universal income. In India, they are calling on the government to urgently provide food, soap and cash to people below the poverty line and to informal workers, most of whom are 57% women.

3. Reduce young people, juniors are less likely to be hired.

Young people under 20 are leading as the most affected by unemployment.

In March, more than a quarter of UK companies said they would hire fewer graduates because of the pandemic. Some of the country’s largest employers have cancelled or postponed internships and recruitment. There is another unpleasant fact for this category of workers.

Young people who are lucky enough to find a job during the crisis are paid lower wages for a full five years after starting their careers than those who found work before the crisis. Economists have called this phenomenon a “scarring” effect.

4. Freelancers, Uber drivers and others suffer.

For freelance freelancers there is a special term – “ghost workers”. They are beneficial for employers: they allow reducing social package costs and salaries. They allow you to quickly change decisions, launch new products without taking into account the opinion of employees who are not officially part of the state. Digital platforms such as Uber, Deliveroo, Instacart, IT giants Google and Facebook have a huge number of ghost workers. Coronavirus has led to the crisis of this model.

Freelancers, self-employed, including Uber drivers, were actually unemployed because of the pandemic. Lyft and Uber first offered their drivers to retrain as couriers during the pandemic. The U.S. government provided $2 trillion to support them, but in some states the procedure lasted for an incomprehensible period. In total, about 23 million Americans need help.

Tags: covid, employment, IT

About the Author

Bibhuranjan Editorial Officer, technofaq.org I'm an avid tech enthusiast at heart. I like to mug up on new and exciting developments on science and tech and have a deep love for PC gaming. Other hobbies include writing blog posts, music and DIY projects.