China’s gig economy workers encouraged to form unions
The state labour union voiced out that gig workers should have stronger worker protection and labour rights.
Fewer women will rejoin workforce than men amid COVID-19 recovery
In 2021, there will be 13 million fewer employed women as compared to 2019, said the International Labour Organisation.
Hong Kong’s unemployment rate in Q2 2021 falls to 5.5%
Some 213,000 people are still out of jobs, but this is 20,200 fewer than the preceding quarter, as Hong Kong’s labour market continues to recover.
South Korean business lobby set to challenge new minimum wage rate
This comes after the country’s minimum wage commission set the new minimum wage rate at 9,160 won (US$7.94) per hour for 2022.
Remote working in Japan falls in July amid telework fatigue
The proportion of people working completely remotely in a recent week in July stood at 11.6%, down from 18.5% in April.
China creates 6.98 million urban jobs in H1’21
The surveyed urban unemployment rate averaged at 5.2%, down 0.6 percentage points year-on-year, as China’s economic recovery continues to gain pace.
Australia’s unemployment rate falls to 4.9% in June
However, underemployment crept up by 0.5% to 7.9% as the economy responded to lockdowns in the states of Victoria and New South Wales.
Thailand approves 42 billion baht COVID-19 stimulus package
The financial aid will apply to companies in the sectors of construction, hotels, food services, art, entertainment and recreation in affected provinces.
Over 50% of gig workers in New Zealand earn below minimum wage
Some 30% of gig workers estimated their hourly wage after expenses to be between NZ$18.90 and 2021’s scheduled minimum wage of NZ$20.
Malaysia doles out additional RM$500 aid to small businesses
The payout will be on top of the RM$1,000 assistance which was credited to the companies’ bank accounts in mid-June this year.
Pandemic hits women-led businesses harder than their male counterparts
In the hospitality sector, women-led firms saw a 68% fall in anticipated sales, a higher figure compared to men-led firms, reported the World Bank.
SOPs should still apply to fully vaccinated workers in Malaysia
The Malaysian Employers Federation also proposed the set up of a platform to record, monitor and report adverse events related to the COVID-19 vaccinations.
South Korea trails APAC neighbours in female employment rate
South Korea ranks 30th place out of 36 OECD countries, and falls behind Japan, New Zealand, and Australia.
Malaysia allocates RM$3.8 billion to extension of wage subsidy scheme
The programme is to be implemented for four months from August 1st, and would be open to all economic sectors in the first two months.
Fewer Australians leaving their jobs amid the pandemic
Both men and women are less likely to leave their jobs for family reasons, as they juggled more childcare with work from home commitments.
Malaysian business and trade groups warn of looming mass unemployment
The alliance urged the government to change its strategy as very little improvement has been made with regards to the COVID-19 case daily tally.
Australia’s Victoria state trials sick leave for casual workers
Consultation for the trial programme will open this month, and the scheme is slated to start in early 2022.
Singapore aims to add at least 20,000 jobs in infocomm media
Last year, economic contributions from the sector had already expanded by 4.8%, as digitalisation gains pace in Singapore.
South Korea sees rise in younger entrepreneurs
Between January and April this year, entrepreneurs aged 30 and under started 59,000 enterprises over the period, an increase of almost 20% year-on-year.
Taiwan offer subsidies to the unemployed who find jobs
Workers will now be eligible for handouts of up to NT$20,000 in subsidies over four months if they find a new full-time job.
Cash benefits given to Singaporean parents ineligible for parental leave
The new measures will allow parents to qualify for paternity, maternity and adoption benefits of up to S$30,000, depending on their income.
Malaysia approves RM$1.3 billion in wage subsidies
The funds have been channelled to 75,262 employers, allowing them to maintain employment of 659,066 workers.
Delhi’s public job portal registers record surge in jobseekers
There were 75,000 connections made between jobseekers and employers in June, with a total of 34,212 job seekers newly registered.
Australian unions reject proposal that collects worker vaccination data
Under the proposal, large employers would be able to act as vaccine hubs, granted indemnity to vaccinate staff and collect employees’ vaccination records.
Malaysia’s central bank allocates additional RM$4 billion loan facility
The facility aims to provide relief and support the recovery of SMEs in the services sector, and brings the total allocation to RM$6 billion.
Australia’s NSW new parental leave policy takes effect
Beginning July 1, public sector workers will have access to 14 weeks of paid parental leave in the state of New South Wales.
World Bank supports India’s informal sector workers
A US$500 million World Bank programme will invest in social protection schemes for urban informal workers, gig-workers, and migrants.
South Korea unveils $33 trillion won budget for pandemic relief
A large portion of the extra budget will be used to support small businesses, provide cash handouts to households and help struggling job seekers.
Australia’s government identifies jobs with future demand
The Skills Priority List, which provides a future demand rating for occupations nationwide, will be used to enact relevant employment policies.
Thailand announces 7.5 billion baht COVID-19 relief package
The payout will cover over 690,000 employees across six high-risk provinces, paying out half their wages with a cap of 7,500 baht.