The impact of the lockdown on jobs

Restrictions on the movement of people are also having a punishing impact on jobs and firms —  despite teleconferencing.

The decline in global goods trade is casting a shadow over a quick global recovery.

The barriers for jet-setting workers that sprung up with the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic have tended to remain in place, even as national lockdown measures have eased.

As countries implement quarantines on arrivals from some countries, that also seems to hit business travel.

In a scenario where a country shuts out passengers while still allowing freight, restrictions could raise the cost of service trade by 8% to 16%, according to the OECD.

“This can wipe the profit of some businesses and lead them to reconsider their projects involving trade,’’ OECD Chief Economist Laurence Boone said. “Without this business, in some cases firms or activities may need to close, and that could trigger job losses.”

As she presented the OECD’s updated economic outlook, Boone also had a word of warning for countries looking to repatriate production: *global supply chains might not be the problem*.

In the case of face masks to protect against the spread of the virus, shortages were due to a surge in demand that outweighed the global capacity to supply — not because of supply chains malfunctioning.

Instead of reshoring, she urged countries to diversify their sourcing and re-evaluate the level of stocks.

The more countries put up barriers to trade, the more they demand visas, licenses and complex and unjustified regulations, the more difficult they make trade and the more some firms will say this business isn’t worth it.