A “new normal” as a “new essential”? COVID-19, digital transformations and employment structures

This article explores the new policy challenges that have arisen as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. "New normality" should recognize "new essentiality", in terms of jobs and sectors. First, the disjunction between health policies and anti-resive economic policies is examined. The economic impact of confinement on households and businesses, as well as the slowdown in trade related to global value chains, are studied. The lessons that can be drawn from this crisis in areas that were already contingent before the pandemic and which are likely to be even more so after it, including the need to direct digital transformation to minimize negative impacts on jobs and sectors, while still reflecting critically on its "essential" nature , and the need for policy measures to ensure good governance of health data.