World Employment And Social Outlook : Trends 2024
The International Labour Organization (ILO) projects worldwide joblessness will increase through 2024 as declining economic growth combines with persistent inflation and stagnant wages to spur inequality – though some labor markets have proved resilient.
- The ILO highlighted the sharp macroeconomic deterioration over the past year from cascading global crises.
- Multiple major economies slowed considerably in 2023 amid lingering geopolitical tensions and aggressive central bank interest rates hikes aimed at taming inflation dampening industrial production, trade, and investment flows.
- The global jobless rate dropped below pre-COVID levels to 5.1% with labor force participation also bouncing back close to early 2020 levels. But concerns remain over the quality of work available.
- The ILO warned slowing economies will likely swing global unemployment back upward through 2024 even as structural weaknesses like skills gaps and inadequate social protection linger in many nations.
- More people worldwide are also falling into working poverty subsisting on under $2 daily as real wage growth trails behind consumer prices across most G20 economies except China and India.
- The report found real wages in India showing “positive” improvement in 2022 versus 2021 exceeding the rate across all other G20 countries save Mexico.
- Robust productivity expansion in the country likely helped boost wage growth compared to peers.
- India still faces challenges ensuring broad-based social equality and labour rights.
