State Policy towards Labour Market Changes Caused by COVID-19

The aim of the paper is to present strategies for minimising negative effects of the crisis caused by COVID-19 by state authorities of non-European countries in the first months after the announcement of the pandemic. The focus is on employment and labour market policy instruments. The research is comparative in its nature and was conducted using the desk research and discourse analysis methods. The source/unit in the analysis were the rapid assessments of the employment impacts of COVID-19 submitted to the International Labour Organisation. The study did not cover European Union Member States. Among the instruments and countermeasures typical of employment and labour market policies, few innovative solutions were identified, tailored to local specifics and taking into account the effects of the pandemic – the ecological crisis and the emergence of technological unemployment. The results achieved implicate a number of further questions relevant for public policy research. Research shows that COVID-19 contributes to deepening of the polarisation of society and existing labour market policy instruments in countries will not be sufficient to stop social exclusion due to unemployment especially in countries with a predominantly informal economy. Meanwhile, a category of people has emerged, due to the suspension of business activities and internal migration, whose status is also “suspended” (liminal) between work and unemployment.

POLITYKA PAŃSTWA WOBEC ZMIAN NA RYNKU PRACY SPOWODOWANYCH COVID-19

Celem artykułu jest zaprezentowanie strategii minimalizowania negatywnych skutków kryzysu spowodowanych przez COVID-19 przez władze państwowe w pierwszych miesiącach od ogłoszenia pandemii. Koncentrowano uwagę na instrumentach polityki zatrudnienia i rynku pracy. Badania miały charakter porównawczy, prowadzone były metodami desk research oraz analizy dyskursu. Źródłem/jednostką w badaniu były bieżące analizy wpływu COVID-19 na zatrudnienie składane w Międzynarodowej Organizacji Pracy. Nie objęto badaniem państw należących do Unii Europejskiej. Wśród instrumentów i środków zaradczych typowych dla polityki zatrudnienia i polityki rynku pracy wykazano nieliczne rozwiązania innowacyjne, dostosowane do specyfiki lokalnej oraz uwzględniające skutki problemów nieunieważnionych przez pandemię – kryzysu ekologicznego oraz kwestii związanej z pojawianiem się bezrobocia technologicznego. Osiągnięte rezultaty rzutują na szereg dalszych pytań właściwych do postawienia w badaniach polityki publicznej. Badania pokazują, że COVID-19 przyczynia się do pogłębiania polaryzacji społeczeństwa, a istniejące w poszczególnych krajach instrumenty polityki rynku pracy nie wystarczą, by powstrzymać wykluczenie społeczne z powodu bezrobocia, zwłaszcza w krajach o dominującej gospodarce nieformalnej. Tymczasem ze względu na zawieszanie działalności gospodarczej i brak możliwości reemigracji pojawiła się nowa kategoria osób, których status liminalny oznacza „zawieszenie” między pracą a bezrobociem.

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