World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2024

FOCUS

The World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2024 has been prepared by International Labour Organization and published in January 2024. It presents the latest trends in labour markets across the world, including factors like unemployment, job creation, labour force participation and hours worked. The report also highlights the significance of these developments through their social outcomes displayed in living conditions.

Labor productivity and living standards have remained stagnant despite advancements in technology like generative AI, which may widen inequalities especially in developing countries. The report notes that real wages declined in the year 2023 in the majority of G20 countries as wage increases failed to keep pace with inflation. Extreme poverty remains a significant issue with 241 million workers earning less than US $2.15 per day per person in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP).

This 120-page document is divided into 3 sections: Labour market resilience will be tested in the near term (Section 1); Employment and social trends by regions (Section 2); Labour shortages amidst unmet demand for decent work (Section 3).

    FACTOIDS

  1. In the year 2023, monetary authorities implemented the fastest interest rate increases since the 1980s due to growing inflation.

  2. The global unemployment rate in 2023 was 5.1 per cent of the total labour force. Labor market participation in 2023 recovered in lower-, middle- and high-income countries.

  3. In 2023, over 1 million more workers fell into extreme poverty earning less than US $2.15 per day.

  4. The report states that key sectors such as care, transportation and retail struggle to attract workers. Labour shortages also persist in manufacturing, construction, and information and communications technology (ICT).

  5. The report states that despite recovery in labour force participation rates to pre Covid-19 levels, female labour participation remains low especially in developing countries. The labour force participation rate for women (20 per cent) was 49 percentage points lower than men (69 per cent) in the year 2023.

  6. In Asia and the Pacific region, nearly two-thirds of total employment was informal in 2023. In South Asia, informal employment affects more than eight out of ten young workers in the region. One in four young workers live in households below the moderate poverty threshold of US $3.65 per day in PPP terms.

  7. In Gaza Strip, 61 per cent of employment has been lost which amounts to 182,000 jobs due to the Isreal-Hamas war.

  8. The labour force participation rates among youths (aged 15-24 years) have not returned to pre-pandemic levels, the report notes. The number of young people not in employment, education, or training (NEET) remains elevated globally. In South Asia, more than 144 million youth are not in employment, education, or training. Majority of them are women.


    Focus and Factoids by Adrija Bhadra.

AUTHOR

International Labour Organization

COPYRIGHT

International Labour Organization

PUBLICATION DATE

Jan, 2024

TAGS

#unemployment #employment #gender-gap #social-security

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