The coronavirus pandemic has had a huge impact on the job market. The measures and closures introduced as part of the defence have led to higher unemployment across Europe, but governments in member states have been rolling out various concessions and subsidies to help both the employers and employees.

Wage subsidies and partial unemployment

In France, as a result of the restrictions introduced because of the coronavirus pandemic, a great number of companeis were forced to suspend their activities. Most have relied on the government s so-called partial unemployment scheme.

According to the Directorate for Research, Studies and Statistics (DARES) of the Ministries of Labor, Industrial Relations, and Solidarity, since 1 March 2020, French companies have submitted a total of 1,283,000 claims of partial unemployment . According to vie publique, 12.4 million workers are currently receiving partial unemployment benefits in France.

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According to Eurostat, the Hungarian economy is already showing signs of recovery from the pandemic. In March last year, when the government declared a state of emergency, the country s unemployment rate stood at 3.7 percent. That number rose to 4.9 percent in June, but dropped to 4.3 percent by December.

The UK takes a different approach

Infection data shows a declining trend in the UK too, although the mutant variants of the virus have caused considerable concern of late. The UK was able to lower its level of preparedness in light of the improving stats, the health minister announced a few days ago. Mass vaccination is progressing well as more than 19 million people have already received at least the first jab.

Unemployment in the UK stood at 4 per cent in February 2020, but it saw a steady rise over the course of last year. Although the figure surpassed 5 per cent by December, it was kept relatively low during the pandemic, thanks to the government s job retention scheme.