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Pandemics, global supply chains and local labor demand: evidence from 100 million posted jobs in China

Author

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  • Fang, Hanming
  • Ge, Chunmian
  • Huang, Hanwei
  • Li, Hongbin

Abstract

This paper studies how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected labor demand, using over 100 million posted jobs on one of the largest online platforms in China. Our data reveal that the number of newly posted jobs within the first 14 weeks after the Wuhan lockdown on January 23, 2020, was about 31% lower than that of comparable periods in 2018 and 2019. We show that, via the global supply chain, COVID-19 cases abroad and pandemic-control policies by foreign governments reduced new-job creation in China by 11.7%. We also find that firms most exposed to international trade outperformed other firms at the beginning of the pandemic but underperformed during the recovery as the virus spread throughout the world.

Suggested Citation

  • Fang, Hanming & Ge, Chunmian & Huang, Hanwei & Li, Hongbin, 2020. "Pandemics, global supply chains and local labor demand: evidence from 100 million posted jobs in China," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 108489, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:108489
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    Cited by:

    1. Zeng, Xiangquan & Chu, Shuai & Chen, Xuan, 2022. "China's Labor Market Demand in the Shadow of COVID-19: Evidence from an Online Job Board," IZA Discussion Papers 15201, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Zeng, Xiangquan & Chu, Shuai & Chen, Xuan, 2022. "China's Labor Market Demand in the Shadow of COVID-19: Evidence from an Online Job Board," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1074, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    3. Qi Zhang & Xinxin Zhang & Qi Cui & Weining Cao & Ling He & Yexin Zhou & Xiaofan Li & Yunpeng Fan, 2022. "The Unequal Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Labour Market and Income Inequality in China: A Multisectoral CGE Model Analysis Coupled with a Micro-Simulation Approach," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-21, January.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Covid-19; coronavirus; labor demand; global supply chains; trade; China; employment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J00 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - General
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply

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