Job retention schemes during the COVID-19 lockdown and beyond. 03/08/2020
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Paris
OECD Publishing - Paris
2020
23 p.
epidemic disease ; employment policy ; employment security ; unemployment
Employment
English
"Job retention (JR) schemes have been one of the main policy tools used by a number of OECD countries to contain the employment and social fallout of the COVID‑19 crisis. By May 2020, JR schemes supported about 50 million jobs across the OECD, about ten times as many as during the global financial crisis of 2008-09. By reducing labour costs, JR schemes have prevented a surge in unemployment, while they have mitigated financial hardship and buttressed aggregate demand by supporting the incomes of workers on reduced working time. However, as the first wave of the health crisis is receding in some OECD countries and government restrictions to economic activities are being withdrawn, JR schemes need to adjust. This requires a better targeting of JR support to jobs that are viable but at risk of being terminated and a greater focus on supporting workers at risk of becoming unemployed, rather than their jobs."
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