How Monaco private sector employment suffered from the pandemic in 2020

According to a recent report by Monaco’s official statistical body (IMSEE), published on the 9 April, the Covid-19 pandemic has had a serious impact on employment in the private sector, as the number of employees has dropped by almost 4%.

Back in December 2019, there were 53,091 people employed in the private sector, compared with just 51,008 in the same month last year: a decrease that equates to a 3.9% reduction in the workforce, or 2083 employees fewer than on 2019. However, some job security measures have been put in place, in view of the current health, economic and social crises. As well as there being fewer employees, those who were in employment worked less, as the number of hours worked fell by 14.4% between 2019 and 2020. Almost two months of working hours were lost.

For those working in the hospitality or accommodation sectors, the situation is even more worrying, as the number of hours worked by employees in these industries dropped by 39.5% between 2019 and 2020, which equates to losing almost six million hours over the year. As for their workforce, this has reduced in size by 11.6%. Before the pandemic began, this sector was the second biggest employer in the Principality.

Hospitality, accomodation and transport: victims of the downward trend

The transport and storage sectors have also been affected as employee numbers decreased by 9.9%. However, this common downward trend has not been universal. The construction sector has seen their workforce increase by 5.9%, that is to say almost 300 extra labourers. Businesses in the finance and insurance sector also recorded a 0.8% rise in employees in 2020.

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