Even as the stock markets crashed and global economy is predicted to tank, a new study by United Nations said the COVID-19 pandemic will significantly increase global unemployment, leaving up to 25 million more people out of work, and will dramatically slash workers' incomes.
In a new study, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) warned that the economic and labour crisis sparked by the spread of the new coronavirus, which has now killed more than 8,000 people worldwide, will have "far-reaching impacts on labour market outcomes".
"This is no longer only a global health crisis, it is also a major labour market and economic crisis that is having a huge impact on people," ILO chief Guy Ryder said in a statement.
The agency suggested the world should be ready to? see a "significant rise in unemployment and underemployment in the wake of the virus."
If the governments reach quickly and manage to control the outbreak, it found that even in the best-case scenario, 5.3 million more people will be pushed into unemployment by the crisis.
At the high-end meanwhile, 24.7 million more people will become jobless, on top of the 188 million registered as unemployed in 2019, the study found.
It warned that "underemployment is also expected to increase on a large scale, as the economic consequences of the virus outbreak translate into reductions in working hours and wages".
The study noted the number of people who live in poverty despite holding one or more jobs will also increase significantly, the study said, estimating that between 8.8 and 35 million more people will be added to the ranks of the working poor.
"The strain on incomes resulting from the decline in economic activity will devastate workers close to or below the poverty line," it said.