GENEVA (ILO News) – Poor quality
employment is the main issue for global labour markets, with millions
of people forced to accept inadequate working conditions, according
to a new report from the International Labour Organization (ILO).

New data gathered for the World
Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2019 (WESO) show that a
majority of the 3.3 billion people employed globally in 2018 had
inadequate economic security, material well-being and equality of
opportunity. What’s more, progress in reducing unemployment
globally is not being reflected in improvements in the quality of
work.

The report, published by the ILO, cites
the persistence of a number of major deficits in decent work, warning
that, at the current rate of progress, attaining the goal of decent
work for all, as set out in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),
particularly SDG 8, seems unrealistic for many countries.

“SDG 8 is not just about full
employment but the quality of that employment."

Deborah Greenfield, ILO Deputy
Director-General for Policy

“SDG 8 is not just about full
employment but the quality of that employment,” said Deborah
Greenfield, ILO Deputy Director-General for Policy. “Equality and
decent work are two of the pillars underpinning sustainable
development.”

The report cautions that some new
business models, including those enabled by new technologies,
threaten to undermine existing labour market achievements – in
areas such as improving employment formality and security, social
protection and labour standards – unless policy-makers meet the
challenge.

“Being in employment does not always
guarantee a decent living,” said Damian Grimshaw, ILO Director of
Research. “For instance, a full 700 million people are living in
extreme or moderate poverty despite having employment.”

“A full 700 million people are living
in extreme or moderate poverty despite having employment."

Damian Grimshaw, ILO Director of
Research

Among the issues highlighted is the
lack of progress in closing the gender gap in labour force
participation. Only 48 per cent of women are in the labour force,
compared to 75 per cent of men. Women also make up far more of the
potential, underutilized, labour force. Another issue is the
persistence of informal employment, with a staggering 2 billion
workers – 61 per cent of the world’s workforce – categorized as
such. Also of concern is that more than one in five young people
(under 25) are not in employment, education or training, compromising
their future employment prospects.

The annual report also highlights some
pockets of progress. Should the world economy manage to avoid a
significant downturn, unemployment is projected to decline further in
many countries. There has also been a great decrease in working
poverty in the last 30 years, especially in middle-income countries,
and a rise in the number of people in education or training.

Main regional findings:

Africa

· Only 4.5 per cent of the
region’s working age population is unemployed, with 60 per cent
employed. However, rather than indicating a well-functioning labour
market, this is because many workers have no choice but to take poor
quality work, lacking security, decent pay and social protection.

· The labour force is
projected to expand by more than 14 million per year. Economic growth
rates until 2020 are expected to be too low to create enough quality
jobs for this fast-growing labour force.

Northern America

· Unemployment is expected to
reach its lowest level, 4.1 per cent in 2019.

· Both employment growth and
economic activity are projected to begin declining in 2020.

· People with basic education
are more than twice as likely to be unemployed as those with advanced
education.

· The sub-region is a leader
in digital labour platforms. Close monitoring of such work is a
growing issue for policy-makers.

Latin America and the Caribbean

· Despite rebounding economic
growth, employment is expected to rise by only 1.4 per cent per year
in 2019 and 2020.

· The relatively slow fall in
regional unemployment figures is a result of different labour market
conditions in individual countries.

· Informality and poor job
quality remain pervasive in all types of employment.

Arab States

· Regional unemployment is
projected to remain stable at 7.3 per cent until 2020, with
unemployment in non-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries reaching
double that of the GCC.

· Migrant workers account for
41 per cent of total regional employment, and in GCC countries more
than half of all workers are migrants, on average.

· The women’s unemployment
rate, at 15.6 per cent, is three times that of men. Youth are also
disproportionately affected and the youth unemployment rate is four
times the adult rate.

Asia and the Pacific

· Economic growth continues,
albeit at a slower rate than in previous years.

· The regional unemployment
rate is projected to remain at around 3.6 per cent until 2020, below
the global average.

· Structural transformation
has moved workers out of agriculture, but this has not created
significant improvements in job quality; a large proportion of
workers lack job security, written contracts and income stability.

· While social protection has
been significantly extended in some countries, it remains extremely
low in those countries with the highest poverty rates.

Europe and Central Asia

· In Northern, Southern and
Western Europe, unemployment is at its lowest in a decade and is set
to continue falling until 2020.

· In Eastern Europe the number
of people in employment is expected to shrink by 0.7 per cent in both
2019 and 2020, but a simultaneously shrinking labour force means the
unemployment rate will fall.

· Long-term unemployment is as
high as 40 per cent in some countries.

· Informality remains
widespread, at 43 per cent, in Central and Western Asia.

· Working poverty, poor job
quality and persistent labour market inequalities remain concerns.

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World Employment and Social Outlook:
Trends 2019

The report in short: The trends in
world employment 2019

What are the key findings of the ILO's
"World Employment and Social Outlook - Trends 2019" report?
Stefan Kühn and Erika Xiomara Chaparro Perez, Economists from the
ILO’s Research department explain.