Human resources and the pandemic: an overview
The public health emergency has had significant ramifications for the global population’s social and working lives as well as their finances.
The already challenged labour market has shrunk dramatically as testified by the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) estimates of a loss in hours worked of roughly 8.8% at global level, the equivalent of 255 million full-time jobs.
However, not all activities have been affected by Covid-19 to the same degree, as the essential activities like supermarkets, chemists and services that can easily be provided online were able to safeguard at least part of their business during the crisis. Conversely, workers in the non-essential sectors, like tourism and HORECA, have seen their incomes almost obliterated.