In the Weekly Economics Podcast, Thomas-Smith (2020) describes recent job losses in the United Kingdom due to the pandemic. In this episode, Thomas-Smith invited Alfie Stirling, a head of at the NEF, and Nikki Pound, a support officer in Policy and Campaigns at the TUC, to discuss the unemployment problem and its potential solutions. Macroeconomics examines the performance of the economy in general, as such, the issue of job losses demonstrates how the economy of countries was affected by Covid-19.
I think that due to the recent events, the economies of all countries are now vulnerable. Alfie Stirling estimates that if there is a second wave of the pandemic, almost 50% of employees in the world will lose their jobs. The such possibility may signal governments to implement new policies to prevent job losses issue in their countries. Nikki Pound points out that one of the most effective governmental decisions in maintaining the effects of Covid-19 on the economy was the job retention scheme that was applied in many countries. The scheme allowed employers to pay wages to employees, and, in some countries, it also ensured additional revenues for workers. I also believe that the job retention scheme was an excellent solution during the pandemic as it prevented many organizations from closure. Moreover, Stirling addresses that some governments and economic experts assume that some jobs exist permanently, and they are not going to secure such jobs from external factors, such as Covid-19. From my perspective, such an assumption is not fair as people with a wide range of jobs are losing their positions. I also think that governments should ensure a set of regulations that focuses on the effects of Covid-19 to prevent further economic frustrations.
Reference
Thomas-Smith, A. (Host). (2020). Can we avoid a tsunami of job losses? [Audio Podcast]. In Weekly Economics. Web.