Wage subsidies have served as a primary labour market policy used around the world to
mitigate job losses in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In South Africa, where
unemployment is among the highest globally, the Temporary Employer-Employee Relief
Scheme supported millions of workers in a far-reaching and progressive manner. We make
use of unique labour force panel data to estimate the causal effect of the policy on short-term
job retention among formal private sector workers, who represent the majority of workers in …

Wage subsidies have served as a primary labour market policy used around the world to
mitigate job losses in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In South Africa, where
unemployment is among the highest globally, the Temporary Employer–Employee Relief
Scheme supported millions of workers in a far-reaching and progressive manner. We make
use of unique labour force panel data to estimate the causal effect of the policy on short-term
job retention among formal private sector workers, who represent the majority of workers in …