State Policy towards Labour Market Changes Caused by COVID-19
State Policy towards Labour Market Changes Caused by COVID-19

Summary/Abstract: The aim of the paper is to present strategies for minimising negative effects of the crisis caused by COVID-19 by state authorities of non-European countries in the first months after the announcement of the pandemic. The focus is on employment and labour market policy instruments. The research is comparative in its nature and was conducted using the desk research and discourse analysis methods. The source/unit in the analysis were the rapid assessments of the employment impacts of COVID-19 submitted to the International Labour Organisation. The study did not cover European Union Member States. Among the instruments and countermeasures typical of employment and labour market policies, few innovative solutions were identified, tailored to local specifics and taking into account the effects of the pandemic – the ecological crisis and the emergence of technological unemployment. The results achieved implicate a number of further questions relevant for public policy research. Research shows that COVID-19 contributes to deepening of the polarisation of society and existing labour market policy instruments in countries will not be sufficient to stop social exclusion due to unemployment especially in countries with a predominantly informal economy. Meanwhile, a category of people has emerged, due to the suspension of business activities and internal migration, whose status is also “suspended” (liminal) between work and unemployment.

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