The job crisis is " much more serious " than that of 2008, especially for women, young people and low-income workers, according to the OECD which calls for " urgent action " so that it does not change not in " a generalized social crisis ".
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" In the most optimistic scenario of the evolution of the pandemic, the unemployment rate in all OECD countries could reach 9.4% in the fourth quarter of 2020, surpassing all the peaks recorded since the Great Depression ", anticipates the OECD in the 2020 edition of its “ employment prospects ” report published on Tuesday.
French unemployment rate at 12.3% at the end of 2020
The total number of hours worked collapsed, decreasing ten times faster in the first three months of the current crisis than in the first three months of the 2008 crisis, according to the organization. For France, it forecasts an unemployment rate of 12.3% at the end of 2020, and even 13.7% in the event of a second epidemic wave.
The OECD recalls that it is individuals with low incomes who are the hardest hit. “ Women are hit harder than men, with many working in the hardest hit sectors and holding a disproportionate percentage of precarious jobs. The self-employed and employees on temporary or part-time contracts are particularly exposed to job and income losses , ”she underlines. As for young people who leave school or university, " they will find it difficult to find work and face a lasting deterioration in their income prospects ," warns the organization.
Insofar as the prospects of finding a job quickly " will remain poor for many, some countries should extend the duration of unemployment benefits, " suggests the organization. In the medium term, countries “ should fill the structural gaps in the social protection systems that the crisis has highlighted. This will include strengthening income support for all workers, including the self-employed, part-time workers and other atypical workers . ”