Most workers stop looking for new jobs: ADB

The ratio in Indonesia is 60 percent and Malaysia 40 percent, according to a report by Asian Development Bank (ADB).

It used data from the General Statistics Office that shows 4.4 percent of the working population, or 1.8 million people, lost their jobs in the third quarter, up 620,000 year-on-year.

Among them, 90 percent exited the workforce, it stated.

The bank, however, could not approach these individual workers to clarify their issues.

A survey in October by VnExpress and Private Sector Development Committee found 53 percent of workers were still unemployed at the time.

Forty one percent of them could not find a suitable new job, stated the survey, which polled over 8,800 people.

More than half, 55 percent, were not able to say when they would start looking for a job.

ADB said the negative impacts of the pandemic and prolonged social distancing have forced factories to suspend operation, forcing many into unemployment. Workers have also seen their incomes drop.

Informal workers, who are overrepresented among the region’s poor and near-poor workers, were particularly vulnerable to the crisis since they have limited job security and social protection.

The region’s 10 million migrant workers were also hit by the restrictions on travel and mobility, because they often don’t have job security or access to health and welfare systems in their host countries.