The lockdown in response to the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in sizeable job losses in South Africa (and around the world). This exogenous shock provided a natural experiment to investigate how job loss affects mental health. The labor market implications of the COVID-19 lockdown were also unique because many workers retained jobs to return to, but for the duration of the lockdown, they were neither working nor earning an income. This paper reviews the job situation in COVID -19 and how the automation has affected the job situation.

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Keywords: Child Development, Child Education, Parental Care, Parental Status, Employment.