A Labor expert, Hamada Abu Najma, confirmed Wednesday that the report of the International Labor Organization (ILO) of the United Nations (UN), which revealed that the pandemic has plunged an additional 100 million workers into poverty, does not reflect any optimism during the current period.

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He added that there is a real problem in labor markets accross countries, stressing that what is required now of governments is to create agreements with private sectors to solve these issues. Abu Najma said one of the ways this can be done is by creating job opportunities while preserving existing job opportunities, especially since there are sectors that have already began to return to their work.

However, these sectors are no longer what they were pre-COVID-19, said Abu Najma.

He explained that the return of small and medium enterprises to their work as they were before the pandemic will not be easy, especially since the economic effects played a major role in the labor markets and will continue beyond the pandemic, especially in developing countries, including Jordan.

The ILO said that at least 220 million people are expected to remain unemployed globally this year, well above pre-pandemic levels, in light of a weak recovery in the labor market.

They expect an improvement to bring the number down to 205 million unemployed by 2022, which is still higher than the 187 million recorded in 2019 prior to the coronavirus crisis.