Impact of the Covid 19 Pandemic on the Labor Market in the Slovak Republic: Women vs. Men

Abstract

In the spring of 2020, the world was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, which had a significant impact on both the economic and noneconomic spheres of everyone's life. The paper deals with the impact of the pandemic on the labour market in the Slovak Republic. The analysis examines data of selected indicators at the level of districts and regions. The results showed a more negative impact on men than on women. The economic activity rate of men decreased on average by 1 p.p., while that of women only by 0.5. At the same time, labor markets in eastern and central Slovakia were affected more than those in western Slovakia. The results of the analysis indicate that people with higher education are more resilient to the corona crisis than those with no or low education, specially women with higher education are more resilient to the corona crisis. A paradoxical outcome of the analysis is the finding that the number of workers in the 55+ age group in the labor market increased for both genders and across the country. The focus of economic policy should be to mitigate the negative effects of the corona crisis through measures aimed at creating jobs and increasing employment.