Abstract:
Aims: To assess the impact of the cOViD-19 pandemic on individual labour market outcomes
and how these vary over time and between different groups of individuals.
Methods: searches were conducted using Medline, scopus and econlit. grey literature
searches used google scholar and econpapers. study quality was assessed using the risk of
bias in non-randomised studies of exposure tool (rOBiNs-e), accompanied by a directed
acyclic graph (Dag) to identify relevant mediators, moderators and confounders.
results: a total of 85 studies (77 peer-reviewed articles, 8 working papers) were included. The
rOBiNs-e showed that the overall risk of bias varied between studies from low (n = 14),
moderate (n = 56) to serious (n = 15). studies also varied in terms of outcome measures, study
designs and the academic disciplines of researchers. generally, studies using data collected
before and during the pandemic showed large negative effects on employment, working hours
and income. studies that assessed moderators (e.g. by industry, occupation, age, gender, race
and country of birth) indicated the pandemic has likely worsened pre-existing disparities in
health and work. generally, women, less educated, non-whites and young workers were
affected the most, perhaps due to their jobs involving high levels of personal contact (e.g.
hospitality, sales and entertainment) and being less amenable to remote working. The Dag
highlighted methodological challenges in drawing robust inferences about cOViD-19’s impact
on employment, including the lack of an unexposed control group.
conclusions: The cOViD-19 health crisis caused unanticipated and unprecedented changes
to employment opportunities around the world, with potential long-term health consequences.
Further research should investigate the longer-term impact of cOViD-19, with greater attention
given to low- and middle-income countries. Our study provides guidance on the design and
critical appraisal of future studies
