As we are all highly aware, the COVID-19 pandemic has risen unemployment levels worldwide. It is no secret that the consequences of this pandemic have been terrible, nevertheless, some countries found a way to lower its impact, while other countries, dare I say like Colombia, used possible money reserves and budget into other unnecessary investments, while its people are having a really hard time. According to DANE (2021), the Statistics Department of Colombia, the unemployment rate in February of 2021 increased 3,7 percentage points compared to the previous year, reaching 15,9% (para. 1). In fact, from the members of the members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Colombia was the country that reached the highest level of unemployment, with a 16,13% rate for the year 2020 (OECD, 2021).
Unfortunately, we do not have to see statistics to be aware of how difficult the situation has become. I am thankful to say, I have been one of the few lucky people that my family and close people have all kept their jobs, although it has required its efforts, even working extra hours. Other people are not so lucky, people that have lost their jobs have had to get to the streets and start asking for money, selling stuff like candy, and many times they are accompanied by their families and children. I've seen little kids helping their parents, doing choreographies in every residential unit, asking for money. Why is this even allowed? These kids should be studying at home (due to virtual classes), enjoying their childhood, playing, learning, etc.
(Source: De la Cal, 2014)
One man that specifically shocked me was a guy shouting in the streets "Cambio bolsas de basura por comida"- which translates into I trade trash bags for food- and he was screaming how he had no job and had his kids and family at home, who he needed to feed. A few people, including myself, immediately gave him food that he could take home to his family, and in fact, I let him keep the bags, I did not trade it with him, I just gave him the food and I hope maybe a possibility to keep bags he could possibly trade or even sell. Sadly, regardless of how many people helped that guy, it will never be enough, without economic stability and food security, his family (and the families of other people in the streets) will always be vulnerable to not having the food of the day, or even be forced to leave their houses, due to lack of rent, or schools, since many children in the pandemic have had to retire to help with the household income.
On the other hand, there are some perspectives on the matter of whether there are available jobs in Colombia, in fact, there is a movement called #Trabajosihay- #Thereiswork (Available vacancies)- where some people state that there are many available vacancies, you just have to seek for opportunities -which may not be something you may like, since most of them require a great effort- instead of asking for money on the streets. While other people believe it is very hard to find jobs, especially in the current pandemic world. I personally believe it is not all black and white, first, this situation goes beyond opinions, it is more about statistics and whether people are qualified for the jobs they are being offered. Second, many people that need jobs can not fulfill some of their tasks, for example, many elder people require an income to live every day, but they are usually not considered candidates for companies, or other organizations, because they are considered a liability to the company. So what are these people supposed to do? How can they get the incomes they need to survive?
Also, there is a scene that happens globally, especially to students, that companies and other institutions require their workers to have previous working experience in order to get the job, but many people do not have working experience because they do not get these jobs. During the pandemic, I have tried to get a remote job, trying to get the most out of current virtuality, but besides possibly not being the ideal candidate for the companies I have applied for, I am a full-time student with no working experience, but I have not been able to get working experience since my resume is probably lacking it. Thankfully, I am in no need to get a job, I have been trying to improve my resume and make the most out of quarantine and maybe have some previous experience before my career's internship. A lot of people have told me it has a lot to do with the world's recession during the pandemic, but I have been thinking about whether we will be able to go back to our previous normal life.
Many companies discovered that paying for offices and the whole building, is not really worth it, since people can work from home and a lot of them are actually comfortable, although it is possibly not the majority. But the real questions I ask myself are, how will the labor market be when we-students- get into it? Will we only get remote jobs? Will we have real working experience?. The future is clearly uncertain, but today's youth is the one that will have to live in a post-pandemic world, after an unemployment crisis, risen poverty levels, un-experienced students soon to be workers, and lack of stability.
References:
DANE. (2021). Información Febrero 2021. Retrieved from: https://www.dane.gov.co/index.php/estadisticas-por-tema/mercado-laboral/empleo-y-desempleo
OECD. (2021). Unemployment Rate. Retrieved from: https://data.oecd.org/unemp/unemployment-rate.htm
De la Cal, L. (2014). Pedir en la calle tiene un precio. Retrieved from: https://www.elmundo.es/espana/2014/11/24/54725b7522601d27698b4584.html
Ecupunto. (2019). Niños venezolanos duermen en las calles de La Guajira (+Video). Retrieved from: https://ecupunto.com/2019/04/12/ninos-venezolanos-duermen-en-las-calles-de-la-guajira-video/
El University. (2017). What to do if you graduate without a job. Retrieved from: https://www.eluniversity.co.za/blog/graduate-without-job/
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