Employment Working Group

Monitoring the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on employment in the G20

A year and a half into the COVID-19 pandemic, labour markets experienced some recovery. Yet, the aggregate hours worked in G20 countries are still lower than the pre-crisis level and the G20 employment rate is projected to fall short of the pre-pandemic level even at the end of 2021. At the same time, there is significant cross-country and within-country heterogeneity in the impact of the pandemic on labour markets, especially regarding informality, level of education and age. This report gives an overview of the process of recovery in G20 countries, and of the policies adopted by governments to consolidate and strengthen the recovery. It concludes with policy recommendations to help countries move beyond the pandemic.