SAWT BEIRUT INTERNATIONAL

| 29 March 2024, Friday |

Gallup research: One in two people globally lost income due to the COVID-19 pandemic

US-based polling company Gallup  research showed that one in two people worldwide saw their earnings drop due to the coronavirus.

People in low-income countries particularly hard hit by job losses or cuts to their working hours, research showed on Monday.

Gallup, which surveyed 300,000 people across 117 countries, found that half of those with jobs earned less because of COVID-19 pandemic disruptions. This translated to 1.6 billion adults globally, it said.

“Worldwide, these percentages ranged from a high of 76 percent in Thailand to a low of 10 percent in Switzerland,” said researchers in a statement.

In Bolivia, Myanmar, Kenya, Uganda, Indonesia, Honduras and Ecuador, more than 70 percent people polled said they took home less than before global health crisis. This figure dropped to 34 percent in the US.

The COVID-19 crisis has hit workers across the world, particularly women, who are over-represented in low-paid precarious sectors such as retail, tourism and food services.

A study by the international charity Oxfam on Thursday said the pandemic had cost women around the world $800 billion in lost income.

The Gallup poll found that more than half of those surveyed said they temporarily stopped working at their job or business – translating to about 1.7 billion adults globally.

In 57 countries including India, Zimbabwe, the Philippines, Kenya, Bangladesh, El Salvador, more than 65 percent of respondents said they stopped working for a time.

Countries where people were least likely to say they stopped working were predominantly developed, high-income countries.

Fewer than one in 10 of those who had jobs in Austria, Switzerland and Germany said they had stopped working temporarily. In the US, the figure was 39 percent, research showed.

    Source:
  • Reuters