International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth (IPC-IG) (01.08.2022) The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has hit the foundations of the economy and provoked devastating social effects in all the countries in the world, being Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) one of the most affected regions.

worldbank.org (July 2022) Reports that one of the most persistent patterns of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region’s labor market remains the large share of healthy and capable working-age populations excluded from the labor force and employment, particularly among women and youth aged 15 to 24 years not in employment, education, or training (NEET). The lack of inclusivity proves most apparent in the lost potential of women, whose labor force participation, averaging about 20 percent, remains the world’s lowest.

forbes.com (11.08.2022) The number of unemployed young people around the world is set to hit 73 million in 2022, a slight improvement from the year before, but still well above global youth unemployment rates before the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a new report from the United Nations, which found young people have been hit particularly hard by the coronavirus health crisis.

ilo.org (11.08.2022) Incorporating the most recent labour market information available, Global Employment Trends for Youth sets out the youth labour market situation around the world. It shows where progress has or has not been made, updates world and regional youth labour market indicators, and gives detailed analyses of trends and issues facing young people in the labour market.

European Commission (19.07.2022) Amongst other findings, the report shows young people were among the most negatively affected by job losses during the economic crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. It also shows that the recovery was slower for them than for other age groups. Possible explanations are linked to their high share of fixed-term contracts and difficulties in finding a first job after leaving school, university, or training.

worldbank.org (2022) Is Coronavirus (Covid-19) a “game changer” for cash transfers? This tantalizing question has animated a large body of recent literature and over 60 virtual panels. This paper offers some clues to address the question by bringing together data, evaluations and practical experiences generated over the course of the pandemic.

blogs.worldbank.org (13.07.2022) Over the past 30 months we have been carefully tracking countries’ unprecedented social protection responses to Covid-19. But what are we learning from such wealth of experiences?  A new paper – Cash Transfers in Pandemic Times: Evidence, Practices, and Implications from the Largest Scale Up in History – combines analysis of large datasets with a review of about 300 pandemic papers, evaluations, and practical experiences while focusing on a particular form of social protection – cash transfers.

ifpri.org (2022) Numerous studies that draw extensively on rigorous impact evaluations have documented substantial short-term impacts of social protection programs, especially cash and in-kind social assistance, on food security and asset formation, as well as on education, health, and dietary diversity. However, evidence on the impact of social protection systems designed to sustainably reduce poverty by responding to large-scale shocks is more limited. 

ilo.org (June 2022) This regional companion report is intended to complement the ILO’s World Social Protection Report 2020–22. It includes a section summarizing the status of social protection worldwide, followed by a section highlighting key social protection developments, challenges and priorities for this region from a life-cycle perspective.