The global pandemic will force millions worldwide to spend Friday’s International Workers Day in unemployment and uncertainty. “China’s labor market pressure may be the most challenging since the late 1990s and early 2000s,” it added. Chinese brokerage Zhongtai Securities last week estimated joblessness at 20.5 percent or around 70 million workers — far exceeding that of the 2008 to 2009 global financial crisis and three times official estimates. But in an indication of the sensitivity of jobs data in China, Zhongtai later retracted the report, apparently under official pressure. Even if still employed, an estimated 250 million workers will lose 10-50 percent of earnings this year, the Economist Intelligence Unit said.

Source: Manila Times April 30, 2020 17:03 UTC