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Physical proximity and occupational employment change by gender during the COVID-19 pandemic

Author

Listed:
  • Jacqueline Mosomi
  • Amy Thornton

Abstract

Previous economic downturns such as the 2008-09 Global Financial Crisis disproportionately affected male employment due to greater contractions in industries typically filled by men (e.g., manufacturing). However, after the imposition of the 'hard' COVID-19 lockdown between 2020 quarter 1 and 2 in South Africa, both men and women lost about a million jobs. We show a higher ratio of female-to-male job loss in the 2020 recession compared to 2008-09 is partly explained by South African women's clustering in occupations high in physical proximity (e.g., services).

Suggested Citation

  • Jacqueline Mosomi & Amy Thornton, 2022. "Physical proximity and occupational employment change by gender during the COVID-19 pandemic," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2022-90, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    • Handle: RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp-2022-90
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    3. Handel, Michael J., 2016. "The O-NET content model: strengths and limitations," Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 49(2), pages 157-176.
    4. Claudia Goldin, 2014. "A Grand Gender Convergence: Its Last Chapter," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(4), pages 1091-1119, April.
    5. Simon Mongey & Laura Pilossoph & Alexander Weinberg, 2021. "Which workers bear the burden of social distancing?," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 19(3), pages 509-526, September.
    6. Stefania Albanesi & Jiyeon Kim, 2021. "Effects of the COVID-19 Recession on the US Labor Market: Occupation, Family, and Gender," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 35(3), pages 3-24, Summer.
    7. Handel, Michael J., 2016. "The O-NET content model: strengths and limitations," Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 49(2), pages 157-176.
    8. Autor, David & Dorn, David, 2009. "Inequality and Specialization: The Growth of Low-Skill Service Jobs in the United States," IZA Discussion Papers 4290, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
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    Cited by:

    1. Amy Thornton, 2025. "Own- and cross-price elasticities of (cohabiting) married women's labour supply in South Africa," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2025-85, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    2. Oyenubi, Adeola & Mosomi, Jacqueline, 2024. "Utility of inequality sensitive measures of the gender wage gap: Evidence from South Africa," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 576-590.

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