Why Japan's Jobless Rate Is Just 2.6% While the U.S.'s Has Soared

The restrictions imposed by the coronavirus have turned horseracing in Nebraska into an unexpected boon. City officials allowed racing tracks to be open—with precautions—because the horses' livelihoods depend on the jockeys' livelihoods. The grandstands are empty, masks are worn, and temperatures are taken regularly. People from all over the country are betting on the horses online, providing some income, albeit less money than usual. They are also enjoying the increase interest as a way to educate people on Nebraska's history with horse racing.

Across England, businesses are stepping up to help their neighbors during the COVID-19 pandemic. There’s Glasses Direct, which is gifting 4,000 pairs of glasses to National Health Service workers, and Fully Charged, offering health care workers 3 months of free e-bike usage. Remote services are being offered too, with Thrive Law has created a helpline for those experiencing crisis to receive free legal advice, and Ascenti, offering free and remote physiotherapy sessions for the elderly and NHS employees.

In March 2020, North Carolina’s Board of Education, in response to COVID-19, approved paid emergency leave for all school employees – but with 100% pay only going to those that qualify as “high risk.” With many of the affected employees being Spanish-only speakers explanations of the detailed leave policies were not comprehensive, making the roll out of the relief confusing and inaccessible.

Nearly 90% of Icelandic workers enjoy a four-day, 36-hour workweek, with no loss in pay compared to the traditional 40 hours. Despite initial concerns about a drop in productivity, reports indicate that productivity remained stable and even increased in some sectors. The four-day workweek also leads to less stress and improved work-life balance, and countries like Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom are currently testing four-day pilots.

A pilot program trained companies in the United Kingdom to effectively run on four-day workweeks. The transition improved employees’ work-life balance without sacrificing productivity. Many companies opted to keep the schedule when the program ended.

To mitigate the problem of unfair supply chains, Tip Me allows consumers to send money directly to the workers creating the merchandise in factories halfway across the world. Brands pay a fee to sign up for the system "in order to boost their ethical credibility" which provides funding for Tip Me, allowing the company to handle the logistics of getting tips into the hands of those for whom they are intended. Half of all shoppers have used the tipping feature when presented with the opportunity.

Despite a nationwide months-long coronavirus lockdown in Norway, the economy was able to remain stable due to a "decades-long effort to create an equitable economy" that helped the government to enact a package that provided businesses and self-employed individuals' tax relief and deferrals. Although Norwegians pay roughly the same amount of taxes that Americans do, their taxes largely pay for social welfare programs which include unemployment benefits, retirement pay, and health care coverage. This "national ethos of economic equity" is what helped the country to navigate the pandemic.

With many people out of work due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some cities and nonprofits are creating outdoorsy job programs to relieve unemployment. Inspired by the conservation corps programs created during the Great Depression, North Carolina, Alaska, and Texas have these initiatives. The reliance on fundraising to pay workers can be a challenge, but these programs are providing jobs for nearly 250 people and are making some conservation progress. For example, the Carolina Climbers Coalition crew has already completed projects at state parks in the Southeast.

Meatpacking workers protested Covid-19 safety concerns and a coalition of advocacy groups filed a civil rights complaint with the government accusing Tyson and JBS USA of racial discrimination during the pandemic because the safety issues disproportionately impact line workers, who are largely people of color. Nevada’s Culinary Union also sued Las Vegas Strip casinos for unsafe working conditions. Two casinos have been dropped from the suit after deciding to negotiate privately with the union and Tyson has since instituted some safety measures, but broader impacts of the complaints remain to be seen.

Community leaders led the charge in raising funds for undocumented workers, who do not qualify for stimulus and unemployment checks during the Covid-19 shutdown which has left millions of people unable to work. A collaboration of people from various groups in San Francisco formed a nonprofit, UnDocuFund SF, raising more than $1.5 million for 705 households. The critical funds were raised through a combination of public generosity, state funding for undocumented workers, a local union, and a large anonymous donation.