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This brief report from the ILO highlights [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 impacts on tourism employment in Asia and the Pacific that have left the sector reeling from job losses, deterioration in work quality and shifts towards increased informality. Evidence from five countries - Brunei Darussalam, Mongolia, Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam - shows that job losses in the tourism-related sectors in 2020 were four times greater than in non-tourism sectors. Nearly one-third of the total jobs lost across the five countries was related to the tourism sector. Even where decreases in employment-related jobs were seemingly small - in Thailand and Viet Nam, for instance - there has been a shift of jobs to lower paid tourism sub-sectors and hence a decrease in the quality of available jobs. The reduction in average working hours in the tourism-related sectors in 2020 ranged from 4 per cent in Viet Nam to 38 per cent in the Philippines. As formal jobs in the tourism sector declined, workers moved into the informal sector. The vulnerability of the tourism sector to external shocks has become especially obvious in the current crisis and has thus invited a 're-think' of medium- and long-term tourism strategies within the context of broader growth objectives.

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The second workshop under the Global Skills Partnership on Migration (GSPM) brought together representatives of key international and national organisations, involved in work that deploys technology to enhance the recognition of skills and qualifications of migrant workers and refugees. It provided an opportunity to discuss recent developments and challenges of skills logbooks, skills passports and other skills portability mechanisms and explore the potential for more coordinated action using these tools along different stages of the migration cycle: recruitment, pre-departure, pre-employment, career progression and upon return.

Presentations at the workshop were: UNESCO qualifications passport for refugees and vulnerable migrants / Andreas Snildal; National skills passport of Sri Lanka / Janaka Jayalath; Use of skills logbooks and skills passports: [Youth Agency Marketplace] YOMA / Celine Lafoucriere; Europass: the European tool to manage your skills and plan your learning and career / Koen Nomden; RedSafe application / Berta Panes.

The brief summarises the discussions and outcomes of the three sessions on: (1) the skills logbook and passport initiatives or services that the five GSPM partners are offering to their constituents and members to improve skills and qualifications recognition and portability of migrant workers; (2) the scope, institutional grounding, and results (in terms of portability) of the latter and their development potential; and (3) the technological solutions that are available to document, store, verify and facilitate the cross-border recognition of skills and qualifications as well as the numerous challenges.

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The [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 crisis caused unprecedented job losses, hitting women the hardest. Women's employment-to-population ratios declined proportionally more than men's for all country income level groups, particularly in middle-income countries. Therefore, gender gaps in employment-to-population ratios have increased in 2020. Loss of employment has mostly resulted in economic inactivity, for young women in particular. Women's over-representation in hard-hit sectors explains their relatively greater employment losses as compared to men's. Evidence from selected countries also indicates that the greater the employment losses experienced by a country, the more than proportionally women were affected. Women's job losses were relatively lower in countries where policies like job retention schemes were put in place to minimize the loss of employment.Young women are shouldering the worst of the employment crisis, as roughly two times as many young women lost their jobs as did young men.

Emerging evidence suggests new care responsibilities constrained women's labour force participation during the pandemic and forced many to quit paid employment altogether. The ILO projects that women's employment will still remain below pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2021. Neither women's nor men's employment-to-population ratios are expected to have fully recovered by the end of 2021. Gender gaps will remain slightly above their 2019 levels. The 'Global call to action for a human-centred recovery from the COVID-19 crisis that is inclusive, sustainable and resilient' calls for gender-responsive employment policies, particularly macroeconomic, sectoral and active labour market policies that address effectively the gender-specific effects of the COVID-19 crisis and support the creation of full and productive employment for women and men, including in the care sector.

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Eighteen months after the transition to a new administration, Afghanistan continues to face a humanitarian crisis, created through immensely harsh economic conditions and a challenging labour market situation. This brief is the second rapid employment assessment in Afghanistan following the change in administration in August 2021. The assessment includes revised quarterly estimates and trends of employment through the fourth quarter 2022, covering all workers in both the formal and informal economy, and is based on the methodology outlined in the Annex. It presents both sex- and age-disaggregated analyses to highlight the distinct employment situation for women and men and young people and adults.

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With remarkably high labour market participation rate, women in Viet Nam face multiple and persistent labour market inequalities, and carry a disproportionate double burden of work and family responsibilities. More than 70 per cent of Viet Nam's working-age women are in the labour force, compared to the global level of 47.2 per cent and the average of 43.9 per cent in Asia and the Pacific. Women in Viet Nam are on average found in lower-quality employment than men. This research by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Viet Nam shows that the [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 pandemic has not only exacerbated existing inequalities, but also created new gender gaps. As a result of the pandemic, total working hours dropped significantly in the second quarter of 2020, and recovered through the second half of the year. Women faced the most severe losses. The authors argue that, while at the policy level the 2019 Labour Code has opened opportunities to close such gender gaps, for example in retirement age or removing the ban on female employment in certain occupations, a much more difficult task still awaits Viet Nam. That is changing the mind sets of the Vietnamese men and women themselves which will in turn influence their behaviours in the labour market.

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The shift to online or distance learning during the pandemic should be seen first and foremost as an emergency response. However, the crisis also provides an opportunity for the development of more flexible learning solutions that make better use of distance learning and digital solutions.

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This note provides an initial assessment of the impact of the Ukraine crisis on the world of work in Ukraine, its neighbouring countries and beyond. Following an overview of the ongoing humanitarian and economic crisis, it examines the impacts of the crisis on employment, incomes and livelihoods, with a focus on Ukraine and refugees in neighbouring countries, as well as on migrant workers from Central Asia. It also offers a brief review of how the crisis could exacerbate the current global challenges in the world of work and outlines the key areas requiring immediate action.

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The persistent war in the Gaza Strip and restrictive measures by Israeli authorities in the West Bank continue to have significant adverse effects on the economy of the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), with severely damaging implications for the labour market. Revised estimates suggest that, as of 31 January 2024, 507,000 jobs have been lost across the OPT as a result of the hostilities, compared to an earlier job loss estimate of 468,000. This comprises 201,000 jobs lost in Gaza Strip and 306,000 jobs lost in the West Bank. These job losses translate into daily labour income losses of [Unites States dollars] USD 21.7 million. This figure increases to USD 25.5 million per day, when combined with the loss of income resulting from the partial payment of wages to civil servants and the reduced incomes of workers in the private sector across the OPT.

In view of the huge employment losses, unemployment has spiked in the OPT. If the hostilities continue until the end of March 2024, the annual unemployment rate in 2024 is forecast to rise to 42.7 per cent. If the hostilities continue until end of June 2024, however, the corresponding rate is projected to rise even further to 45.5 per cent. At the quarterly level, projections indicate that, if the war continues until the end of March 2024, the unemployment rate in the OPT will soar to a staggering 57 per cent in the first quarter of the year. Beyond the impact on unemployment, the war has also had a huge effect on labour supply. Labour force participation rates are projected to decline by 3.6 percentage points for men and 1.2 percentage points for women between 2023 and 2024, if the hostilities continue until June 2024.

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Given that women account for approximately 80 per cent of the garment sector workforce, many of the sectoral impacts of the [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 pandemic have and will continue to disproportionately affect women. This brief raises awareness of the gendered reality of COVID-19 and outlines some of the ways in which the pandemic impacts women and men workers in the garment sector in the short, medium and long-terms. Ultimately dedicated gender-responsive measures and policies should be designed and implemented based on the needs and realities of different groups of women, of men and of others. Otherwise, the COVID-19 pandemic threatens to exacerbate pre-existing inequalities, undermine women's empowerment and hamper the social and economic sustainability of the garment sector over the short, medium and long terms.

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The escalation of hostilities in Gaza is continuing to have grave repercussions on lives and livelihoods in the Gaza Strip, with cascading implications for the labour market, not only in Gaza but also in the West Bank. Revised estimates suggest that a minimum of 66 per cent of employment has been lost in Gaza Strip, equivalent to 192,000 jobs. The continuing hostilities in the Gaza Strip are exacerbating the spillover effects in the West Bank, where revised estimates now indicate that around 32 per cent of employment has been lost, equivalent to 276,000 jobs. In total, as of 30 November 2023, around 468,000 jobs are estimated to have been lost in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), compared to the earlier estimate of 390,000. These job losses in Gaza Strip and the West Bank translate into daily labour income losses of [Unites States dollars] USD 20.5 million.

As a result of the escalation of hostilities in Gaza and the devastating humanitarian crisis, the unemployment rate in the OPT is projected to increase from 24 per cent in the 4th quarter 2022 to 46.1 per cent in the 4th quarter 2023. Employment in all economic sectors is projected to decline with the exception of the agricultural sector, where employment is forecast to remain stable. This sector provides a cushioning effect from the loss of employment from other sectors. Yet, a replacement process is predicted to be taking place within this sector, whereby men take over women's agricultural jobs.

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