Streamlining The Jordanian Gig Economy: Urgent Need for Action

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has placed the world under a global crisis that may lead to an unprecedented global recession. Countries are expected to adapt to a ‘new normal’, where governments have to diligently introduce expansionary monetary and fiscal policies in order to provide their citizens with essential safety nets.

While the global economy is undergoing a freezing period, where the demand and supply have simultaneously and abruptly diminished, millions of individuals became susceptible to unemployment. In March 2020, the International Labor Organization (ILO) estimated that approximately 24.7 million may lose their jobs globally due to the total shutdown of different economic activities, exceeding the 22 million unemployed individuals in 2008-2009 due to the great recession. While this number was ILO’s worst-case scenario estimate, only one month later, over 26 million individuals filed for unemployment in the United States alone.