The effects of individual and collective labor market status on employment and earnings during the COVID-19 crisis.

This article examines how individual and collective labor market status affected employment continuity, worktime stability, and earnings among Israeli salaried workers during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, based on a unique longitudinal survey conducted from April 2020 to April 2021. Individual labor market status refers to the type of employment contract, distinguishing between standard employment relationships (SER) and various nonstandard employment relationships (non-SER), including temporal and fragmented work arrangements. Collective labor market status is defined by trade union membership and coverage by collective agreements, categorized as fully organized, partially organized, or unorganized. The study finds that workers in more precarious non-SER arrangements without collective representation experienced greater employment insecurity and earnings losses, while those with collective representation had higher employment security but often faced larger earnings reductions, reflecting negotiated compromises during the crisis. These findings highlight the enduring impact of labor market institutions and legal frameworks on inequality and employment resilience in times of economic and social shocks.