OECD Employment Outlook 2021
Navigating the COVID-19 Crisis and Recovery
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The 2021 edition of the OECD Employment Outlook focusses on the labour market implications of the COVID‑19 crisis. Chapters 1-3 concentrate on the main labour market and social challenges brought about by the crisis and the policies to address them. Chapters 4-5 cover long-standing structural issues but also discuss their relevance and implications for the COVID-19 crisis. More specifically, Chapter 1 monitors the impact of the crisis on the labour market, with a particular focus on vulnerable groups in the medium and long term. Chapter 2 provides a preliminary assessment of the role of job retention schemes in preserving jobs during the COVID-19 crisis. Chapter 3 analyses how active labour market policies and public employment services have responded to the challenges posed by the crisis. Chapter 4 assesses the extent and consequences of domestic outsourcing for the labour market in general, and for low-wage occupations in particular. Chapter 5 provides a detailed review of statutory and negotiated regulations governing working time – including teleworking – as well as an overview of trends in working time patterns and time use across OECD countries and socio-demographic groups.
Also available in: French
Job retention schemes during the COVID‑19 crisis: Promoting job retention while supporting job creation
Job retention schemes have been the main instrument used in most OECD countries for stemming the labour market impact of the COVID‑19 crisis. This chapter provides a preliminary assessment of their impact during the crisis. It offers four key contributions: i) an institutional analysis of the main features of job retention schemes; ii) a statistical portrait of their use and determinants; iii) a discussion of their possible effects on job retention and job creation during the COVID‑19 crisis based on the available preliminary evidence; iv) a comprehensive discussion of the policy challenge of promoting job retention while supporting transitions to jobs in firms and sectors with better growth prospects. The main message is that well-designed job retention schemes can be an effective policy tool to help the labour market weather an economic downturn: they need to be timely, targeted and temporary to support workers and firms effectively while minimising unintended negative effects on job creation and growth.
Also available in: French
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