While it is impossible to predict how much economic harm the global pandemic of the coronavirus COVID-19 would inflict, analysts agree that it will have a significant negative impact on the global economy. According to Szmigiera, M. (2021), the world gross domestic product (GDP) will drop by 3.4 percent in 2020 as a result of the quarantine regime, compared to the 2.9 percent growth anticipated for this year. Furthermore, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) established that advanced economies will continue to face economic issues in 2022 as a result of each country's unique approaches and policies. In other words, the coronavirus will have a long-term impact on the national economy of the countries, making this a critical issue from both a short- and long-term perspective. Identifying the existing issue and the most effective solutions for it that fulfill the interests of both individuals and the government requires assessing the delta of unemployment produced by the COVID-19 crisis on society, economies, and vulnerable groups. There is no question that a potential increase in unemployment and a decline in salaries caused by the pandemic situation contributes to stagnation and a decrease in global labor market competitiveness. To be more specific, the International Labor Organization (ILO) concluded in a report prepared for the World Economic Forum that the global pandemic affected 93 percent of the labor market and that 8.8 percent of the world's work time was lost in 2020 compared to the fourth quarter of 2019, equating to 255 million full-time jobs. According to Olivia White et al. (2020), the susceptibility of female labor is 1.8 times higher than the vulnerability of male labor in the current circumstances. It means that COVID-19 has a massive impact on each country's unemployment rate, including Kazakhstan's, which is skewed by gender. According to World Bank analysts (2021), Kazakhstan's economy will face its most challenging year in the last two decades in 2020. Kazakhstan has a female Gender Development Index (GDI) of 0.795, compared to 0.790 for men, and a total GDI of 1.006. Increasing women's political representation and ensuring their voice at the highest levels of government decision-making at the national, regional, and municipal levels is vital to Kazakhstan's gender equality goals. I feel that the problem of unemployment is the most serious and pressing issue in economic theory, both historically and currently. We need to talk about this issue as frequently as possible because society underestimates the significance and intensity of harm to disadvantaged groups. Employers should not consider criteria such as gender when creating equal opportunities for all employees, instead relying solely on qualifications, experience, and knowledge.
How much the level of unemployment of women has changed during COVID-19 in Aktobe?
