While unemployment protection schemes are scarcely developed in Asia and the Pacific, as elsewhere in the world, important developments are taking place to expand and improve coverage. Certain developments have been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. This article presents overall trends and concrete good practices of member institutions in the region.

After over a year since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, efforts to address existing and new social security coverage gaps due to extensive labour market disruptions continue to be at the forefront of governments’ agendas to minimize the negative impact of the crisis and protect people’s livelihoods.