Abstract:

The presented research analyses the indirect effects of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, which could be observed after ten months of struggle. One of the most important negative effects is the increase of unemployment. The study was conducted at the level of Polish Local Administrative Units using annual and monthly data. There was applied an econometric modelling in cross-sectional and panel perspective taking into account the spatial interactions. It was proved that the share of employment in services had a significant impact on the observed increases in unemployment. Moreover, the share of employment in less knowledge intensive services had a greater impact than in the knowledge intensive services. Also, the greater share of women working in services was related to a greater increase in the unemployment than in the case of men working in services. Furthermore, significant spatial relationships between local labour markets were noticed. It also turned out that both the moment of introduction and the severity of containment measures were important. The strongest effect of the lockdown was observed three months after the imposition, while after six months the effect was significantly smaller. The described results can be important guidelines in the preparation of post-pandemic recovery plans.