Dealing with unemployment during COVID-19

It’s no secret that COVID has had an increasing impact on employment all over the world.  We have seen the highest impact from airlines and car manufacturers in Europe but the number of people displaced as a direct result of COVID seems to be in the area of about 5.5M people in the EU alone.  These numbers are calculated from official reports and people registering as unemployed, we believe the number to be higher as many people have yet to register with their national employment services.

Although we see an increase in unemployment, we don’t always see the same decrease in the demand for work to be done.  Companies are still running and new companies are still being established, some trying to establish businesses around COVID offering additional services or products.  So, there is light at the end of this COVID tunnel. 

The best businesses answer a need in the market and COVID has created so many needs.  One of the biggest money makers today, as a direct result of COVID, is the selling of masks, from the ordinary hospital masks to fancy printed and branded masks, but it doesn’t stop there.  Many services are done to help in these times as well. 

Many people have seen the problems in their communities and started earning money by simply helping out (answering the need).  We have seen people offer a service of doing grocery shopping for the elderly, or those unable to go on their own, offering to go and pick up medication from the pharmacy and a variety of small tasks.   Before you start saying, “I have a university degree, I won’t do this”, remember this is a multi-billion Euro industry, a lot of people are profiting from it, why can’t you?  There will always be a need for services, from the simplest tasks to a variety of complex tasks, that people need and are willing to pay for.  If you are currently unemployed, this should be something you are looking at as an option for extra income.

The needs of the market are not limited to daily chores though, companies still need jobs done, they still need a variety of different people with talent and skill, but it is difficult for them to employ people under the circumstances and this is where on-demand services play a big role.  It is easier and cheaper for a company to hire someone for a specific task, that can be done remotely than to employ someone full time for the job.  On-demand (freelance) employment has also become a multi-billion Euro industry worldwide, with more people preferring to work on a freelance basis, often proving to be more profitable, and generate more income than a regular job.

In closing, the world is changing and we need to change with it.  Yes it is more convenient to have a full time job offering security and the guarantee of a salary at the end of the month, but when the circumstances don’t allow for this, we need to get up off that sofa and starting thinking of what we can do, what we can do well, and what people out there need to be done.  The choice is yours!