The unequal impact of the pandemic on the labour market At the peak in early May 2020, over 1.2 million people were supported by the State for their incomes, almost half the labour force, today that number is 953,000.6 While sobering in their own right, the aggregate COVID-19 adjusted unemployment numbers only tell a partial story, and the pandemic has affected some workers more than others.
The impact by region, skill, gender, age or incomes – re ects the concentration of those groups in the sectors that have been subject to varying levels of the necessary health restrictions.