According to the report, the pandemic resulted in an unprecedented level of economic insecurity, with widespread job losses, business closures, a decrease in commercial activity, and shortened working hours. Although the areas where women are more likely to work, such as education and health, were hit more, males recovered faster after the pandemic. The epidemic has also resulted in a disproportionate increase in unpaid care work among women, as well as an increase in their reported stress, anxiety, and violence exposure. These data show that COVID-19's effects may lead to additional losses in women's economic engagement in Pakistan, where women's labor force participation is already among the lowest in the world.
While many businesses temporarily closed during the pandemic, very few businesses closed permanently. Firms mostly faced low consumer demand and reduced access to finance. However, very few firms faced worker absenteeism and health issues, and layoffs have not been very extensive.
According to our findings, these issues differ depending on the size and sector of the company. As a result, we believe the government should give more industry- and size-specific conditions of funding to assist in their recovery.
However, there was an increase in the demand for certain skills in the healthcare and logistics sectors. There is also evidence of an increase in job openings that need remote work. The brief also demonstrates that the crisis had distinct effects on people with varying levels of education, and that these effects varied among the countries studied. In many nations, the health crisis has resulted in labor shortages in various occupations, mostly in the healthcare and public safety sectors.
Online vacancy data allows for a level of detail in labor market and skills demand analysis that is difficult to attain with traditional data sources. These data can be used to look into the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the containment efforts taken by various countries to stop it from spreading.
The influence of COVID-19 on different countries' economies has been mostly mediated by the disease's spread and the countries' ability to limit its economic consequences. In comparison to many other economies, the height of the pandemic in Pakistan was comparatively short-lived, suggesting that the epidemic's long-term effects on Pakistan may not be as severe. So far, our findings support that hypothesis. However, because the number of instances has begun to decline, it is too early to say if Pakistan is rebounding from the recessionary effects of COVID-19.
