CHICAGO, May 20 (Xinhua) -- University of Chicago (UChicago) Booth School of Business estimates that 42 percent of COVID-19 related layoffs could be permanent, according to a news release posted on UChicago's website on Tuesday.

Working with other U.S. and Mexican researchers, scholars at UChicago Booth constructed a novel, forward-looking measure of expected job reallocation across U.S. firms, pairing anecdotal evidence from news reports and other sources, along with the rich dataset provided by the Survey of Business Uncertainty (SBU), a monthly panel survey which allows the calculation of a firm's expected growth rate over the next year, and its degree of uncertainty about its expectations.

"We estimate that 42 percent of recent pandemic-induced layoffs will result in permanent job loss," said Steven Davis, a leading expert on hiring practices, job loss and the effects of economic uncertainty at UChicago. "If the economic shutdown lingers for many months, or if serious pandemics become a recurring phenomenon, there will be profound, long-term consequences for the reallocation of jobs, workers, and capital across firms and locations."

Two special staffing-related questions in the SBU reveal that pandemic-related developments caused near-term layoffs equal to 12.8 percent of March 1 employment, and new hires equal to 3.8 percent, or roughly three new hires per 10 layoffs.

Citing numerous sources that report large-scale hiring by certain retailers, grocers and food-delivery firms, the scholars find that some companies are becoming creative in managing their labor needs.

"Some companies are forming partnerships that exploit the re-allocative nature of the COVID-19 shock to speed hiring," said Davis. "Grocery chains are creating labor exchanges with hotels, and retail stores are pairing with gig companies, among other creative solutions to move workers to where they are needed."