Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

UN: Pandemic has cost 34 million jobs in Latin America

The U.N.'s International Labour Organization says that at least 34 million jobs have been lost in Latin America due to the coronavirus pandemic

Via AP news wire
Wednesday 30 September 2020 17:31 EDT

Your support helps us to tell the story

As your White House correspondent, I ask the tough questions and seek the answers that matter.

Your support enables me to be in the room, pressing for transparency and accountability. Without your contributions, we wouldn't have the resources to challenge those in power.

Your donation makes it possible for us to keep doing this important work, keeping you informed every step of the way to the November election

Head shot of Andrew Feinberg

Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

The U.N.’s International Labour Organization said Wednesday that at least 34 million jobs have been lost in Latin America due to the coronavirus pandemic

The ILO urged countries in the region to adopt “immediate strategies” to deal with the problem.

The count was up from the ILO’s previous estimates in early August that 14 million jobs had been lost in the region.

The organization's Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, Vinícius Pinheiro, called it “an unprecedented challenge.”

Pinheiro said the third quarter had brought a recovery in economic activity and, according to preliminary data, a tentative recovery in employment.

He said the region faced structural problems like low productivity, income inequality and a large percentage of people working off the books.

The ILO figures were based on data from nine countries which account for 80% of the region's workforce.

The ILO lists Latin America and the Caribbean as the worst-hit region in the world in terms of lost working hours, with a drop of 20.9% in the first three quarters of the year, compared to an average of 11.7% worldwide.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in