Work and Inequalities in the Great Confinement II: unemployment, layoffs and adaptation to teleworking
This study revisits the way in which the Great Lockdown, resulting from the measures declared in the State of Emergency to deal with the current pandemic, has already affected the Portuguese labor market, seeking, in particular, to reflect on the dynamics of unemployment growth and the process of adaptation to teleworking and other situations resulting from the lockdown.
The unparalleled pace of job destruction, the unique scope of the layoffthe multidimensional pattern of inequality, the need to debate and reflect on the potential, but also on the risks and constraints of teleworking, are some of the conclusions of this study.
Organized in two parts, this publication begins by analysing the most recent information on the behaviour of the labour market at the start of the deconfinement process, focusing on registered unemployment and the use of layoffs. In thesecond part, based on original primary information collected in two surveys carried out by an ICS/ISCTE team, a detailed analysis is developed, combining quantitative data with testimonies on how the Portuguese are adapting to teleworking.
The study concludes with an exercise in sentiment analysis, based on the answers to some of the open questions in the online survey.
The study was authored by CoLABOR researchers Pedro Adão e Silva, Renato Miguel do Carmo, Frederico Cantante, Catarina Mendes Cruz, Pedro Estêvão, Luís Manso, Tiago Santos Pereira e Filipe Lamelas.
