LABOR MARKET IN CONDITIONS OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC EU VS. USA

Abstract

Since March 2020, the global labor market has been
exposed to exceptional shocks due to the outbreak of a global
pandemic - Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). The COVID-19
crisis has threatened subjects and shaken relations in labor markets
around the world, and employment levels in the European Union (EU)
and the United States of America (USA) have begun to oscillate
significantly. The aim of the research is to review the trends observed
in the labor markets of the EU and the USA during the first and
second quarters of 2020, and to review the projections of eminent
authors related to future trends in the mentioned markets. The
analysis of the unemployment rate, as well as the policies and
measures taken by the EU and USA governments in order to mitigate
the consequences of the pandemic, were used in making the final
assessment which of these systems suffered more damage, and which
of them responded more adequately to crisis. The descriptive and
comparative method, analysis and synthesis technique, as well as
content analysis of available domestic and foreign literature, were
used for research purposes. The result of the research is reflected in
the observation that both the EU and the USA responded to the economic and social emergency, and through a number of initiatives
supported employees and companies in their labor markets in a timely
manner. Finally, the so-far analysis results show that after the first six
months of 2020 the American labor market has been much more
affected by the pandemic than the European labor market.