Work, Inequalities and the “Great Confinement” II Unemployment, Layoff and Remote Work

The COVID-19 pandemic and the public policies put in place to address it had immediate impacts in the Portuguese labour market. Unemployment growth is unprecedent in recent history and the number of companies and
employees covered by the simplified layoff regime is very high. This study shows that both unemployment growth
and layoff coverage are quite different across industries and/or when we look at the company’s size. Using data
from an online survey, this study also analysis the unequal effects of the current crisis on family income, the
socioeconomic profile of workers that can work from home and the unequal conditions they have to do it. The
statistical analysis is complemented by a discourse analysis about remote work/telework.

Keywords: Work and employment; telework; income; inequalities; layoff; COVID-19 pandemic; discourse analysis.

Authors: Pedro Adão e Silva, Renato Miguel do Carmo, Frederico Cantante, Catarina Mendes Cruz, Pedro Estêvão, Luís Manso, Tiago Santos Pereira e Filipe Lamelas.

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