The COVID-19 pandemic is taking a terrible toll on the world's economy, with lockdown measures now affecting the livelihood of almost 2.7 billion workers, according to a new report.
A worker cleans along the Las Vegas Strip, which is nearly empty without the usual crowds as casinos and other businesses are shuttered during the coronavirus outbreak on March 31.A worker cleans along the Las Vegas Strip, which is nearly empty without the usual crowds as casinos and other businesses are shuttered during the coronavirus outbreak on March 31.
For the world's economy, the crisis poses the most risk to vital sectors from food service and business/administrative services to manufacturing and retail, the U.N. agency says. Worldwide, the number of working hours will fall by 6.7% in the current quarter, according to the agency's estimates. That's equivalent to 230 million people working full-time, 40-hour weeks.
The pandemic is dealing a harsh blow to workers in the informal economy — a broad sector that includes jobs such as domestic workers and street vendors, and who often lack any social protections. Those jobs make up large portions of the economies in emerging and developing economies such as in India, Nigeria and Brazil.
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