and labour force, regional and subregional, Asia and the Pacific, 2019–23

X Table 2.4 Estimates and projections of working hours, employment, unemployment

and labour force, regional and subregional, Asia and the Pacific, 2019–23

Region/subregion Ratio of total weekly hours worked to population aged 15–64 (percentages)

Total weekly working hours in full-time equivalent jobs (FTE = 48 hours/week) (millions)

2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023

Asia and the Pacific 29.2 26.8 28.0 28.6 28.8 1771 1638 1723 1774 1797

East Asia 33.8 32.5 33.9 34.0 33.9 825 790 821 823 821

South-East Asia 29.7 27.3 27.5 28.6 29.3 277 257 262 275 284

Pacific Islands 25.2 24.3 24.7 24.8 25.1 14 14 14 14 14

South Asia 24.8 21.5 23.0 24.0 24.3 655 577 626 662 678

Employment-to-population ratio (percentages)

Employment (millions)

2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023

Asia and the Pacific 57.7 55.3 55.8 56.1 56.1 1901 1843 1878 1909 1930

East Asia 65.5 64.4 64.3 64.2 64.1 906 895 898 901 902

South-East Asia 65.7 63.9 63.9 64.1 64.6 324 320 324 329 336

Pacific Islands 60.2 58.8 59.8 59.5 59.4 19 19 20 20 20

South Asia 47.0 43.3 44.5 45.4 45.5 651 609 636 660 672

Unemployment rate (percentages)

Unemployment (millions)

2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023

Asia and the Pacific 4.3 5.4 4.8 4.6 4.5 85.8 104.7 95.2 92.6 91.0

East Asia 4.3 4.8 4.6 4.5 4.3 40.6 44.7 43.1 42.0 41.0

South-East Asia 2.5 3.0 3.1 3.1 2.8 8.2 9.9 10.5 10.4 9.7

Pacific Islands 4.7 5.6 4.7 4.6 4.5 0.9 1.1 1.0 0.9 0.9

South Asia 5.2 7.4 6.0 5.6 5.5 36.0 48.9 40.7 39.3 39.4

Labour force participation rate (percentages)

Labour force (millions)

2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023

Asia and the Pacific 60.3 58.5 58.6 58.8 58.8 1987 1948 1973 2002 2021

East Asia 68.4 67.6 67.4 67.2 67.0 947 940 942 943 943

South-East Asia 67.4 65.9 66.0 66.1 66.4 333 330 334 340 345

Pacific Islands 63.1 62.3 62.7 62.3 62.2 20 20 21 21 21

South Asia 49.6 46.7 47.3 48.1 48.2 687 658 677 699 712

Source: ILOSTAT, ILO modelled estimates, November 2021.

in 2020 (Appendix C, tableC13). Youth were also disproportionately affected, accounting for nearly half (48percent) of net job losses despite representing only 9percent of the workforce. The subregion’s labour market recovery is expected to have lagged behind its economic recovery, with only incremental increases in EPR and LFPR in 2021.

The heavy toll of new variants and waves of the virus in 2021, combined with slow vaccine roll-out, has resulted in a downward revision of the region’s growth prospects, especially

for South Asia and South-East Asia (IMF 2021a). In 2020, South Asia accounted for approximately 60 per cent of the decline in working hours in the region, and 73 per cent of net job losses, as weak public healthcare and high informality compounded the human costs of the crisis. The subregion’s EPR declined by a staggering