Youth and women bearing brunt of job losses in South-east Asia

YOUTH and women are bearing the brunt of job losses brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic.

In Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, people aged 15 to 24 accounted for as much as 45 per cent of job losses at the height of the pandemic in 2020. This is despite the fact that they represent less than 15 per cent of the workforce in these countries, said the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Thursday (Dec 16).

These young workers were more likely to lose jobs mainly because they dominated hard-hit sectors such as hotels and restaurants, as well as wholesale and retail trade.

By Q2 2021, the employment-to-population ratio (EPR) for youth in Vietnam had dropped by more than 12 percentage points compared with its precrisis level, and the youth unemployment rate had reached the highest point since the onset of the pandemic, noted the ADB report.

In Thailand, the youth EPR declined by as much as 2.9 percentage points, compared with 1.1 percentage points for adults in the first quarter of 2021.

"The significant job losses experienced by youth, who already faced important labour market challenges in the region ... were accompanied by other pandemic-induced difficulties such as disruptions to education and skills development, and delays in school-to-work transitions," stated the report.

"The compound effect of these impacts can have significant longterm implications for the career and earning prospects of these youth."

The ADB report, A Crisis Like No Other - Covid-19 and Labour Markets in Southeast Asia, looked at the impact of the pandemic on the economies and labour markets of five countries - Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

In all five countries, job losses peaked in Q2 of 2020, when containment measures were at their most stringent.

Women specifically were more likely to leave the labour force mainly to take care of their family during the pandemic.

In Thailand, women accounted for 60 per cent of all job losses, including 90 per cent in manufacturing, in the second quarter of 2020.

As of Q1 2021, the EPR and labour force participation rate of adult women in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand had surpassed their precrisis levels, while the corresponding rates for men remained well below their pre-crisis levels.

That being said, it is worth noting that the labour market re-entry of women in the third quarter of 2020 was largely into "lower quality, lower productivity jobs" and that while there is no evidence of persistent labour market detachment, the pandemic could nevertheless have long-term negative impacts on the working lives of women.

The pandemic has also exacerbated growing inequalities between skilled and unskilled workers. Informal, temporary, migrant workers and those that are self-employed were amongst the most vulnerable groups.

"Despite unprecedented government responses, Covid-19 has exposed significant social protection gaps associated with high and persistent informality across the region," said ADB Director General for Southeast Asia Ramesh Subramaniam.

"It also has provided an opportunity for countries to address these gaps and expand coverage to new beneficiaries and excluded groups. As recovery takes hold, the focus of fiscal policy can shift more strongly from relief to stimulus, and from stimulus to structural investments that will promote sustained and inclusive growth."

According to the report, 1 out of 5 workers in the Philippines lost jobs or left the workforce altogether.

About 90 per cent of Vietnamese who lost their jobs stopped looking for new employment, as did 60 per cent of Indonesians and 40 per cent of Malaysians.

"The pandemic and the risk of slower economic growth and increased inequalities have underscored the need for fiscal policy to go beyond its countercyclical role through increased investments in social protection and its infrastructure," said ADB Director of Human and Social Development for Southeast Asia Ayako Inagaki.

"Countries should boost investments in human capital and mobilise domestic resources to build inclusive, sustainable social protection programmes and increase social insurance contributions."