The effect of Covid-19 pandemic on labour market outcomes in Moldova

This study aims at assessing the social consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic on the labour market in Moldova. This specifically involves evaluating the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the supply and demand for labour in Moldova. To achieve these aims, we used data from the World Bank (Enterprise Survey) survey of manufacturing industries and service companies in 2020. Using the censored Tobit model, a few number of results were obtained. These include: (i) due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the more a company practises e-commerce, the less her employees are rendered unemployed and the less they resign; (ii) the more a company adapts or changes her production or service due to the pandemic, the more her employees get out of work and the more they resign. In addition, the more the lockdown period extends because of the pandemic, the more a company reduces her workforce (iii) and the more the company's turnover decreases a result of Covid-19, the more she reduces the size of her workforce (iv). Lastly, the more the workforce working remotely due to the pandemic increases, the more they are likely to quit or take extended leave (v). Thus, we can recommend to government to adopt additional support measures for not only companies but also for employees and reduce as much as possible the duration of these health safety measures.