Generation C: for young Asians, coronavirus defines bleak new era of vanishing career prospects

Up to 15 million youth jobs in the region are expected to disappear in 2020, and even those who find work face the prospect of lower earnings for years to come

In India, the Philippines, Thailand and elsewhere, the story is much the same – no jobs, no income, no future

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Patsaravalee Tanakitvibulpon, a civil engineering student, fears she will never match the living standard of her mother. Photo: Vijitra Duangdee

John Power,Randy Mulyanto,Elyssa Lopez,Sonia SarkarandVijitra Duangdee

Published: 8:00am, 15 Nov 2020Updated: 11:59am, 15 Nov 2020

The Covid‑19 pandemic is upending the economic futures of young people across the Asia-Pacific.

As economies across the region plunge into their worst recessions in generations, workers in their 20s and 30s are facing the brunt of lay-offs as workplaces shed employees on a last-in, first-out basis.

The Asian Development Bank and the International Labour Organisation have predicted that up to 15 million youth jobs in the region’s 13 countries will disappear in 2020. Those who can find work face the prospect of lower earnings for years – perhaps even decades – to come. For many, it is the second catastrophic shock in just over a decade, following the 2007-2009 global financial crisis.

Hanging in the balance are the hopes and dreams of a generation, whose experiences of the pandemic will shape the future of the region and the world. Their stories have several common threads: schooling and fledgling careers, then the pandemic and rapidly dwindling prospects.

This Week in Asia talked to a cross-section of the region’s young and aspirational. With their lives on hold amid a rapidly changing economic and sociopolitical landscape, they shared how they are coping, how their views on life and politics are changing amid the upheaval, and what they think their futures might someday hold.

Rajeev Kumar first saw his wages cut at the IT company he worked for, then he was out of a job completely. Photo: Sonia Sarkar

INDIA: EYES WIDE SHUT

Generation C: for young Asians, coronavirus defines bleak new era of vanishing career prospects

Up to 15 million youth jobs in the region are expected to disappear in 2020, and even those who find work face the prospect of lower earnings for years to come In India, the Philippines, Thailand and elsewhere, the story is much the same – no jobs, no income, no future

Up to 15 million youth jobs in the region are expected to disappear in 2020, and even those who find work face the prospect of lower earnings for years to come

In India, the Philippines, Thailand and elsewhere, the story is much the same – no jobs, no income, no future