The negative effects of the pandemic are already visible on the labor market of the Silesian province, but their scale does not indicate a risk of a collapse of the economic structure of the region – this is one of the main conclusions of the report of the team of experts of the University of Economics in Katowice.
Experts have observed a stoppage of recruitment processes by enterprises and a search for savings in human resources on the labor market. In April and May this year, labor market data revealed the negative effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Average employment in the enterprise sector decreased to a level lower than in the entire year 2019. In the period from February to May this year, employment in this part of the economy decreased by 54.2 thousand people. Employment in May this year, amounting to 741 thousand people, was lower by 53.2 thousand people than employment in May 2019. In May this year, in the Silesian province, increases in production, retail sales and mobility were recorded. An improvement in the mood in the economy is visible. There are many indications that the accumulation of negative effects occurred in March and April this year. At the same time, some of the negative effects may be postponed. It is still difficult to estimate to what extent the economic freezing in March and April weakened the development potential of companies in the region.