Zusammenfassung:
The COVID-19 pandemic created global job losses and altered work conditions, as government mitigation measures such as lockdowns led many firms to adopt work-from-home practices. This shift had substantial impacts on labour demand and job opportunities. Using unique administrative firm job records from South Africa spanning 2018-22, we investigate the effects of the pandemic on labour demand and job opportunities, and document three main findings. First, the pandemic induced a significant reduction in employment opportunities in South Africa, with notable variations between economic sectors. Second, the duration of jobs, permanent and casual, decreased substantially during the nine months of intense COVID19 activity. Third, by the end of 2022 jobs and employment opportunities had yet to recover to levels observed before the pandemic. Specifically, employment and working days remained lower, approximately 2 and 4 per cent, respectively, compared to the average levels two years before the pandemic. Finally, we document the heterogeneous effects of economic recovery two years after the pandemic. These results underscore the potential short-term adverse effects of the pandemic on employment gaps in key economic sectors in the country.
