In 2024, global employment expanded in line with a growing labour force, keeping the global unemployment rate steady at 5 per cent, similar to that of 2023. Slowing productivity growth remains a major bottleneck with respect to expanding the opportunities for decent work. On the back of stable unemployment rates, …
The COVID-19 pandemic threatens to disrupt the livelihoods of thousands of vulnerable families in Zambia. This has the potential to reinforce poverty and deepen food and nutrition insecurity. Furthermore, economic disruptions that have slowed down investments, resulted in high unemployment and declined remittances. Resultant adverse effects on some macroeconomic fundamentals, …
This publication summarizes data, research, and policy work by UN Women’s Policy and Programme Division on the pandemic’s impact on women and girls, including the impact on extreme poverty, employment, health, unpaid care, and violence against women and girls. The publication also brings into focus the paucity of gender data …
Of all the regions of the world, Africa has the greatest number of least developed countries (LDCs). The Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2011–2020 is therefore of considerable importance to the continent. Organized along eight different priority areas, the Programme of Action sets out …
This paper examines the main risks faced by the migrant children in Trinidad and Tobago and the exacerbating impact of COVID-19 outbreak due to: i) disruption to education, ii) rising unemployment, iii) risks to mental health and safety, and iv) to child nutrition and health. For example, the impact resulting …
India is at a decisive point in its journey towards prosperity, and it is time to make the next step change in the pace of reform. The economic crisis sparked by COVID-19 could spur actions that return the economy to a high-growth track and create gainful jobs for 90 million …
The new report – which comes after dozens of hearings, meetings, and input from experts, labor unions, mayors, environmental justice leaders, and native communities, among others – details how bold climate action from Congress can create millions of new jobs, grow the American economy, and improve people’s lives across the …
This report seeks to contribute to the question of how enterprises can generate more and better jobs through socially responsible labour and business practices in the Vietnamese electronics sector, taking into account the evolving transnational production system as Viet Nam is further integrated in the global economy. Electronics has become …
The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated a shift to new ways of working, prompting companies to reimagine how, where and by whom work gets done. This shift was already under way with the technological changes of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. As companies look to reset for the new world of work …
The report—a collaborative effort between the International Labour Organization and ADB—finds that the employment prospects of the region’s 660 million young people are severely challenged. They will be hit harder than adults and risk bearing higher longer-term economic and social costs. The report urges governments to engage with young people …
The UK government's response to the unemployment crisis so far relies on a quicker bounce back in economic activity than either the Office for Budget Responsibility or the Bank of England are predicting. No plans have been put in place to protect jobs or businesses in the event of future …
This study reports the findings from the Global Survey on Youth and COVID-19 conducted by partners of the Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth between April and May 2020. This was at the time when the COVID-19 pandemic had rapidly translated into an economic crisis. The study finds the …
Understanding the factors that limit transitions to decent work remains a central concern for policymakers, as changes in the world of work considerably affect the availability and distribution of quality jobs. Many of these global issues are mirrored in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). This report by the …
Recent technological advancements have ushered in a new era of the “internet of bodies” (IoB), with an unprecedented number of connected devices and sensors being affixed to or even implanted and ingested into the human body. The IoB generates tremendous amounts of biometric and human behavioral data. This is, in …
Despite an increase in the number of workers commuting between rural and urban areas, much of the literature on worker mobility continues to be migration centric. This paper establishes the importance of rural-urban commuting in India. As per estimates from Periodic Labour Force Survey 2018-19, an estimated 18.8 million individuals …
This brief assesses how COVID-19 will affect jobs in Asia and the Pacific and proposes policy actions to manage the impacts.COVID-19 is driving economies into recession, putting many jobs at risk. Up to 242 million full-time jobs could be lost globally, with 70% of these in Asia and the Pacific. …
A joint report by the World Bank Group and the World Trade Organization—marks the first major effort to quantify how women are affected by trade through the use of a new gender-disaggregated labor dataset. This analysis helps governments understand how trade policies will affect women and men differently.Despite many advances, …
Amid last year’s recession, loss of savings, job uncertainty, lockdowns, and the pandemic-related economic and social restrictions, India’s aspirations have been challenged this year. In fact, aspirations across all age groups have shrunk. The worst-hit among them is the Early Jobber – the twenty-something, whose aspirations have been dampened by …
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) presents a major opportunity for African countries to bring 30 million people out of extreme poverty and to raise the incomes of 68 million others who live on less than $5.50 per day. With the implementation of AfCFTA, trade facilitation measures that cut …
As the rate of new COVID-19 cases accelerates across the developing world, it exposes the potentially devastating costs of job losses and income reversals. Unconditional emergency cash transfers can mitigate the worst immediate effects of the COVID-19 crisis on poor and near-poor households that do not currently have access to …
The report highlights the need for a fundamental transformation across three socio-economic systems, which represent over a third of the global economy and provide up to two-thirds of all jobs. These systems are: food, land and ocean use; infrastructure and the built environment; and extractives and energy. Together they drive …
