The modern labor market

The global economic recession and the rapid development of total digitalization of business—changes brought about by the pandemic—have become the most powerful global force majeure of the last decade.

The combination of these events has changed the face of the labor market. Hundreds of millions of people have had to adapt to a new, remote work arrangement or even change their field of work entirely. What is the current state of the labor market, and what will happen in the near future? We will explore this in our article.

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COVID-19 and unemployment

COVID-19 restrictions have triggered a significant surge in unemployment in many developed countries. According to research, the unemployment rate in the second quarter of last year was 6.6%. For 2021, it is projected to reach 8.9%.

This is a high negative figure even compared to the worst period of the global financial crisis in 2010. At that time, the unemployment rate in OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries did not exceed 8.5%.

At the end of 2020, the number of unemployed people worldwide stood at 114 million. According to the Ukrainian finance and investment portal Minfin, the number of registered unemployed in Ukraine as of the fourth quarter of 2020 was 459,200, representing a 9.9% share of the total unemployed population (1,673,300).

According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), the majority of those affected by layoffs were blue-collar workers over 40 and women. Furthermore, the market crisis has undermined the fortunes of companies in the retail, hotel and restaurant industries, real estate, and arts and entertainment sectors.

However, there are also many who have managed to quickly adapt to the situation, finding employment in industries providing essential services: healthcare and trade in essential goods.

Some were able to find work in banking and finance, areas less affected by COVID-19. And those who found the strength to radically change their field of work began to build new careers.

By the way, we've often shared the experiences of specialists who have transitioned from one profession to another. You can read the articlesHere And Here.  

As we know, the way work is organized has changed radically in many industries. We've written about this repeatedly in our publications. A huge number of companies around the world, representing IT, finance, insurance, legal, and other business services, have transitioned entirely online.

According to the portal ain.ua, the number of remote vacancies in the IT market increased by 300% in 2020. In April 2021, 27% of candidates who registered their resumes on the grc.u portal were looking exclusively for remote work.

Which specialties are at risk of layoffs in 2021?

But the transition to remote work isn't painless for everyone. Beyond the purely technical aspects of the issue, many employers are concerned about the physical and mental health of employees working remotely.

According to Principal Financial Group, this topic became a priority for over 40% of business leaders during the height of the pandemic. About a third also believe that moral and emotional support for their team deserves top priority. Company management is now much more likely to hire corporate psychologists and launch programs to support employees facing difficult life situations.

The state is also providing some support to sole proprietors and employees affected by the quarantine. According to RBC-Ukraine, the Cabinet of Ministers amended the resolution regulating the 8,000 UAH payments. According to Resolution No. 543 of May 31, 2021, published on the Government Portal, an additional 1.4 billion UAH has been allocated from the budget.

Previously, the same amount was allocated for the state program "Provision of assistance by the Pension Fund of Ukraine to insured persons during the period of restrictive anti-epidemic measures introduced to prevent the spread of the acute respiratory disease COVID-19 caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus." As of May 20, 175,000 people had received the funds.

Ukraine also plans to launch a state program on January 1, 2022, that will allow low-income individuals and those who have been unemployed for a long time to become entrepreneurs. We'll cover this in more detail in our next article.

Automation's Finest Hour

These changing conditions have prompted the rapid development and implementation of innovative technologies that facilitate human labor (either fully or partially). For example, robotic systems are being actively deployed in the mining and metallurgy industries, the public sector has focused on reliable encryption technologies, and the retail sector is embracing the processing of large volumes of data.

According to WEF, 84% of employers worldwide are accelerating their digitalization programs. New robotic process automation (RPA) tools are rapidly emerging, freeing remote employees from routine tasks. By implementing automation, businesses are hoping to optimize costs and overcome the crisis.

We recently talked about the importance of marketing automation.

Demand for new skills

It might seem that the introduction of technology puts a large percentage of jobs at risk. This is not the case, as the introduction of new IT solutions stimulates the emergence of new specialties and positions. In other words, a process of workforce restructuring is underway.

According to a survey conducted by the World Economic Forum (WEF), 34% of companies surveyed intend to expand their workforce to achieve deeper technological integration. Experts predict that by 2025, a huge number of specialists—approximately 97 million people—will retrain and find new professional callings. Adaptability to changing realities and the ability to learn will help them do so.meta-skills).

In the coming years, the highest demand will be for information security analysts, artificial intelligence specialists, robotics engineers, software and application developers, and comprehensive digital transformation specialists. Interaction with automation tools (particularly RPA) will be a required skill for the vast majority of employees.

Therefore, to confidently build a career for the future, it's essential to possess at least basic technical skills. You should also master self-management tools that help you build an effective workflow, develop resilience to stress, and deepen your digital knowledge.

The "Diya" project, created with the support of the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, offers Ukrainians a publicly accessible opportunity to improve their digital literacy. We'll discuss "Digitalgram," the National Digital Literacy Test, in one of our upcoming articles.