Promoting unemployment insurance in Asia

Despite all the recent progresses observed in Asia and Pacific, unemployment protection is still limited to a very small proportion of the Asia and Pacific workers, with only 14 per cent of those who are unemployed receiving unemployment support.

Subregional disparities are stark, with less than 1 per cent of workers in Southern Asia being protected during times of unemployment, while in Eastern Asia just a quarter of unemployed workers receive support.

Unemployment protection systems played an important role in the response to the economic impact of COVID-19, generating a renovated interest from various national stakeholders in the creation of new and the expansion of existing schemes; with a particular interest on the linkage with Active Labour Market Policies.

This session will be an open space to discuss existing challenges and opportunities in the Region. A short introductory remark will be done by one of the ILO Senior Social Protection Specialists for Asia and the Pacific (Nuno Cunha), followed by an open discussion about the opportunities and the work done in the Region. The Social Protection Program Manager of ILO Jakarta Country Office (Ippei Tsuruga) will also briefly share with participants the approach followed by the Project in supporting the creation of the Unemployment Insurance Scheme in Indonesia.

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