Policy sequences during and after COVID-19: A review of labour market policy patterns

After an initial policy emphasis on stabilizing jobs and income through job retention and various types of income support measures, more subsequent country responses to the economic shock generated by the COVID-19 pandemic also include policies to support labour market (re-)entry. This policy brief tracks the sequential logic of labour market policies across a sample of countries from all world regions. It shows the temporal overlap of many measures and highlights potential lessons for a future-oriented and more resilient institutional set-up. Although the implementation of policy measures across countries did not follow a clear sequencing as in previous recessions, it is encouraging to see that the latest experiences from policy responses to the COVID-19 crisis already show developments that could be part of a post-pandemic set-up of labour market policies. Some policy responses to COVID-19 also reflect learning from the difficulties and deficits encountered during and after the Great Recession.