TY - JOUR
T1 - Are labor markets in the Middle East and North Africa recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic?
AU - Krafft, Caroline
AU - Assaad, Ragui
AU - Marouani, Mohamed Ali
AU - Cheung, Ruby
AU - Laplante, Ava
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 Caroline Krafft et al., published by Sciendo.
PY - 2023/1/1
Y1 - 2023/1/1
N2 - The COVID-19 pandemic has not only led to a health crisis, but also to economic and labor market crises. In an effort to avert the public health threat, countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) initially put in place some of the world's most stringent government responses. This paper explores how labor market outcomes for MENA workers have evolved during the COVID-19 pandemic. The paper uses the Economic Research Forum (ERF) COVID-19 MENA Monitor (CMM) phone surveys in Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Sudan, and Tunisia, with waves spanning November 2020 to August 2021. Analyses examine outcomes of employment, unemployment, and labor force participation, along with hours of work and hourly wages. Results show differences in the evolution of pandemic-era labor markets by workers' gender, age, and education, along with their February 2020 labor market status and industry, as well as their pre-pandemic income. Employment rates have largely recovered and hours of work generally increased. Inequality in wages was initially exacerbated by the pandemic, but there has been at least some recovery on this margin as well.
AB - The COVID-19 pandemic has not only led to a health crisis, but also to economic and labor market crises. In an effort to avert the public health threat, countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) initially put in place some of the world's most stringent government responses. This paper explores how labor market outcomes for MENA workers have evolved during the COVID-19 pandemic. The paper uses the Economic Research Forum (ERF) COVID-19 MENA Monitor (CMM) phone surveys in Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Sudan, and Tunisia, with waves spanning November 2020 to August 2021. Analyses examine outcomes of employment, unemployment, and labor force participation, along with hours of work and hourly wages. Results show differences in the evolution of pandemic-era labor markets by workers' gender, age, and education, along with their February 2020 labor market status and industry, as well as their pre-pandemic income. Employment rates have largely recovered and hours of work generally increased. Inequality in wages was initially exacerbated by the pandemic, but there has been at least some recovery on this margin as well.
KW - COVID-19
KW - Middle East and North Africa
KW - employment
KW - hours
KW - labor force
KW - labor market
KW - unemployment
KW - wages
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85173181141&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85173181141&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.2478/izajodm-2023-0001
DO - 10.2478/izajodm-2023-0001
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85173181141
SN - 2193-9020
VL - 14
JO - IZA Journal of Development and Migration
JF - IZA Journal of Development and Migration
IS - 1
ER -