Physical proximity and occupational employment change by gender during the COVID-19 pandemic

Jacqueline Mosomi and Amy Thornton

No wp-2022-90, WIDER Working Paper Series from World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER)

Abstract: Previous economic downturns such as the 2008-09 Global Financial Crisis disproportionately affected male employment due to greater contractions in industries typically filled by men (e.g., manufacturing). However, after the imposition of the 'hard' COVID-19 lockdown between 2020 quarter 1 and 2 in South Africa, both men and women lost about a million jobs. We show a higher ratio of female-to-male job loss in the 2020 recession compared to 2008-09 is partly explained by South African women's clustering in occupations high in physical proximity (e.g., services).

Keywords: COVID-19; Gender; Employment; Lockdown; Pandemic (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-gen
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