Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Wednesday, Sep 17, 2025

Global recovery depends on equal access to vaccines, ILO says

For every 14 people fully vaccinated in the second quarter of 2021, one full-time equivalent job was added to the global labour market, substantially boosting the recovery.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) has called for developed and developing nations to speed up their vaccinations to achieve a global recovery of the labour market.

The loss of working hours in 2021 because of the pandemic will be significantly higher than previously estimated, according to ILO.

It is now projectingthat global hours worked last year will be 4.3% below pre-pandemic levels (the fourth quarter of 2019), the equivalent of 125 million full-time jobs.

This represents a dramatic revision of its June projection of 3.5% or 100 million full-time jobs.

The UN agency warns that without concrete financial and technical support, a "great divergence" in employment recovery trends between rich and poor countries will persist.

"We're looking at a global economy which looks like it's bouncing back with 5% growth or more. And yet, labour markets are not getting back to where they were, and the deficit is very substantial," said ILO Director-General Guy Ryder.

"We're seeing evidence of what we call a great divergence. The rich world is doing relatively well, but regrettably, the developing and emerging countries really are going nowhere. And this should be a matter of the greatest concern to policymakers," Ryder added.

In the third quarter of 2021, total hours worked in high-income countries were 3.6% lower than in the fourth quarter of 2019.

By contrast, the gap in low-income countries stood at 5.7%, and in lower-middle-income countries, at 7.3%.

Europe and Central Asia experienced the smallest loss of hours worked, compared to pre-pandemic levels (2.5%), followed by Asia and the Pacific at 4.6%. Africa, the Americas and the Arab States showed declines of 5.6, 5.4 and 6.5% respectively.

Vaccines and fiscal stimulus crucial to recovery


This divergence is largely driven by the major differences in the roll-out of vaccinations and fiscal stimulus packages.

For every 14 persons fully vaccinated in the second quarter of 2021, one full-time equivalent job was added to the global labour market, according to estimates. This substantially boosted the recovery.

In the absence of vaccines, losses in hours worked would have stood at 6.0% in the second quarter of 2021, rather than the 4.8% actually recorded.

But the highly uneven roll-out of vaccinations means that the positive effect was largest in high-income countries, negligible in lower-middle-income countries and almost zero in low-income countries.

ILO believes these imbalances could be rapidly addressed through global solidarity and more equitable access to vaccines.

Additionally, the fiscal stimulus gap remains largely unaddressed, with around 86% of global stimulus measures being concentrated in high-income countries.

Productivity gap and greater disparities


The impact of the COVID-19 crisis on productivity, workers and enterprises has led to greater disparities.

The productivity gap between rich and poor countries is projected to widen to the highest record since 2005.

"The current trajectory of labour markets is of a stalled recovery, with major downside risks appearing, and a great divergence between developed and developing economies," noted Ryder.

"Dramatically, unequal vaccine distribution and fiscal capacities are driving these trends and both need to be addressed urgently."

Last June, ILO launched a global call to action for a human-centred COVID-19 recovery, with a roadmap that ensures countries that their economic and social recovery from the crisis will be fully inclusive, sustainable and resilient.

"It is time to implement this roadmap, which is fully aligned with and supports the UN's Common Agenda and its Global Accelerator for Jobs and Social Protection," Ryder went on.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
High-Stakes Trump-Putin Summit on Ukraine Underway in Alaska
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
×