The document ¨Labor Situation in Latin America and the Caribbean (June 2021)¨, available now on Internet, figures out the effect of present health crisis on the labor market´s main indicators in 2020. In this stage, regional gross domestic product (GDP) shrank 7.1%, the worst fall in a century, generating a 10.5% increased unemployment rate.

According to the document, hugest impacts were seen in the second quarter of the year, as lockdown measures were implemented showing a sharp drop in economic activity, employment and hours worked.

Starting from the third quarter of 2020, a rolling employment increase has been seen, but the year ended with unemployment levels higher than those observed before the pandemic.

For this reason, ECLAC´s Executive Secretary Alicia Bárcena and ILO´s Regional Director Vinícius Pinheiro considered that ‘nations should implement policies to stimulate employment openings’ especially in vulnerable groups including young people and women.

Both bodies (ECLAC and ILO) lied stress on seeking strategies that allow a recovery with better working conditions for workers, propping up the most affected sectors, improving health and safety at work, and the labor inclusion of women, among other factors.

pgh/Pll/oda / rc