Employment Situation in Latin America and the Caribbean. Work in times of pandemic: the challenges of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19)

Employment Situation in Latin America and the Caribbean is a twice-yearly report prepared jointly by the Economic Development Division of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the Office for the Southern Cone of Latin America of the International Labour Organization (ILO). The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic hit Latin America and the Caribbean in a period of economic weakness and macroeconomic vulnerability. Against this backdrop, the COVID-19 pandemic, which brings with it a combination of external and domestic shocks, will result in the region’s worst economic and social crisis in decades, with damaging effects on employment, the fight against poverty and the reduction of inequality. Along with labour market dynamics, this report examines some of the policies implemented by countries to protect formal and informal employment, income and the production sector. It also analyses the labour challenges related to the reactivation of production in a post-pandemic world. A policy framework prioritizing workplace health and safety is therefore of the essence