Actual scale of unemployment in Europe may be higher than statistic
22:28
The coronavirus pandemic has led to the layoffs of many millions of workers in Europe and the United States. However, economists believe that the actual scale of unemployment is much greater than official statistics indicate.
The data published so far on the number of people who have lost their jobs due to the pandemic do not take into account those who still benefit from state aid programs and are on temporary leaves. Many of these workers may be fired as soon as they return to work. According to Katarina Utermöhl, an economist at Allianz, official unemployment is only the tip of the iceberg, and up to 30 million workers from the 25 OECD countries and emerging markets have actually disappeared from the statistics.
The September data may turn out to be slightly more reliable, as after the reopening of schools, more people will be actively looking for work. According to known statistics, the unemployment rate in the euro zone in August was 8.1 percent. However, according to estimates of some economists, its actual scale may be even 4-4.5 percentage points higher, assuming that every fifth person currently working only part-time will be laid off.
