WAPES, together with the International Labour Organization (ILO), the European Commission, the Inter-American Development Bank, and SOCIEUX+, is launching a survey to assess the impact of COVID-19 on public employment services.

During these challenging times, public actors in labour and employment policies and services are of crucial importance. Public Employment Services (PES), like other public and private actors, have unprecedented challenges to confront. Today, the challenges are to limit the impact of the economic crisis caused by this pandemic and to define the actions that will support the economic recovery. Tomorrow, the focus will be on repairing the social and economic damage, and promoting the new perspectives that emerged from this difficult collective experience.

In order to identify foreseeable issues and measures to be undertaken, as well as emerging challenges as a result of COVID-19 crisis, WAPES, in partnership with ILO, the European Commission, the Inter-American Development Bank, and SOCIEUX+, has launched a survey of public employees working in the labour and employment sectors. The survey focuses on four main areas: preventive and economic support measures, including beyond PES; measures to maintain PES services; measures of service organization; and, current or foreseeable problems with labour market functions and service delivery.

The online survey is targeted to institutions in 120 countries. The preliminary results were presented in a webinar held on June 29, and will be used to document interventions in response to the pandemic, share experiences, and encourage peer-to-peer learning among the different members.