In response to the COVID-19 crisis, the ILO’s Employment, Labour Markets and Youth Branch (EMPLAB) has adapted its research, capacity building and technical advice to countries in order to mitigate the impact of the crisis while ensuring the conditions for a prompt, job-rich recovery through support to policy development and implementation in a sequenced and integrated manner.

To strengthen the relevance of the ILO’s support on employment policies during the crisis, EMPLAB is carrying out gender-responsive assessments of the labour market impact of the pandemic through both the direct effects of lockdown and other containment measures and indirect effects of disruption to trade, capital flows, tourism and migration. Drawing on social dialogue, the rapid assessments involve the analysis of baseline and real-time data, along with reviewing policies that have been put in place. Based on this analysis and review, recommendations are developed to address the immediate impact of the crisis along with strategies for a medium to longer-term employment recovery.

Other services and products cover several subjects related to the impact of COVID-19 on economies and employment, including research, surveys and policy briefs on labour market transitions and aspirations for youth, impact on women, necessary adjustments in demand- and supply-side policies and labour market services for sustainable recovery. These outputs are instrumental for further formulation and implementation of a new generation of gender-responsive national employment and labour market policies and youth employment strategies in recipient countries.