Covid related job losses; Eastern Europeans becomes the most affected ones

According to a report published by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), a sharp fall in employment levels was recorded amongst workers from eastern European countries, because of Covid-19.

The study found that non-EU nationals, or those from western European countries were more likely to be employed in occupations with medium to high levels of working from home, sectors which were also associated with fewer job losses caused by the pandemic.

Females from eastern European were recognize to be particularly vulnerable to Covid-related job losses and non-Irish nationals were over-represented in sectors severely impacted by Covid-19 restrictions, such as the hospitality industry.

Irish nationals make up the largest percentage of those defined under Level 5 measures as key workers, with 47 per cent of the wider population occupied in a key role, compared to 37 per cent of non-Irish nationals.

The report also founded that Black, Black-Irish, Asian and Irish Traveller ethnicity were over-represented in Covid-19 cases up to November 24th, with Irish Travellers 2.6 times more likely to catch the virus than a White-Irish person.

People of Black ethnicity were 1.9 more likely to test positive for Covid-19, while those of Asian ethnicity were 2.3 times as likely to catch the virus.

In contrast, all ethnic minority groups and non-Irish nationals were under-represented among Covid-related deaths.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has not affected all groups equally in Ireland.” report author Dr Frances McGinnity said

“This is clearly showing in both the labour market impact and in the deaths and cases statistics.” he added

“As public health restrictions evolve over the coming months, it is important that the impact of this crisis continue to be monitored to prevent vulnerable groups being adversely affected.”