The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic caused unprecedented employment losses. The United Nations estimates that the pandemic has led to the loss of the equivalent of 255 million full-time jobs, which is four times the number lost during the global financial crisis. Lower middle-income countries, many of which are in the Asia and Pacific region, were severely affected, due to large numbers of youth, women, informal workers, and returning migrant workers, who were the hardest-hit groups. Massive cash transfer programs were mobilized in an effort to stabilize household incomes and stimulate demand for goods and services, but these programs were temporary crisis measures. Employment losses, however, have been lengthy, and may remain even after the pandemic recedes.