TEHRAN- The COVID-19 pandemic has put 1.6 billion jobs, equaling nearly half of the global workforce, at risk of losing their livelihoods, according to the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

The continued sharp decline in working hours globally due to the COVID-19 outbreak means that 1.6 billion workers in the informal economy – that is nearly half of the global workforce – stand in immediate danger of having their livelihoods destroyed, according to the ILO.

At the sector level, the ILO says the hardest-hit include the 232 million workers in wholesale and retail, 111m in manufacturing, 51m in accommodation and food services, and 42m in real estate and other business activities.

According to the recent gender equality paper from the U.S. National Bureau of Economic Research, women disproportionately occupy jobs in sectors most affected by physical distancing measures, and will likely be overwhelmingly impacted by school closures.

However, the paper notes a plausible positive long-term impact, as a shift towards flexible work arrangements or childcare norms, may result in positive long-run impacts on gender equality.

Automotive jobs slump as world economy takes a COVID-19 hit

Jobs available in the automotive industry dropped sharply last week as the world economy continued to toil under the COVID-19 pandemic.

The number of 'active' jobs each day are indexed against the situation on March 1, shortly before the pandemic was declared by the WHO. Only the foodservice, power, and pharmaceutical industries have seen a rise in active jobs since then.

Jobs in the automotive industry were down from 65.2% of March 1 levels on April 17 to 51.9% of March 1 levels on April 24 – the biggest negative week-on-week change in any sector.