Impact of Covid-19 on the future job market

Impact of Covid on the future job market  Covid has given rise to a number of new norms at the workplace, and some of these norms will likely persist after the pandemic and create a long-term effect.

Researches* show that:

• Work from home and virtual meetings are likely to continue to a significantly degree in advanced economies.

• The mix of occupations may change, with a growth in demand in some industries such as healthcare, STEM and e-commerce, but a negative impact on the demand for lower-wage occupations which require relevant little skill.

• The pandemic’s impact on lower-wage jobs will result in many workers in this category having to acquire new skills and shift to occupations in higher wage brackets in order to remain employed.

The scale and nature of workforce transitions required in the coming years will be huge and challenging and will require support from employers and policy makers.  Both employers and employees will have to stay flexible, adaptable and resilient to help create a better and balanced workforce together.

In Hong Kong, there has already been a survey showing that many companies allow employees to work from home and the competition for talents in certain industries has become more intense in 2022.   Signs of the trend of workforce transitions will probably become more obvious shortly.

*Source: “The future of work after COVID-19” by Susan Lund, Anu Madgavkar, James Manyika, Sven Smit, Kweilin Ellingrud, and Olivia Robinson.