Anjali Sharma
GG News Bureau
UNITED NATIONS, 11th Jan. International Labor Organization on Wednesday said that the global unemployment is expected to rise in 2024 with growing inequality and stagnant productivity a cause for concern on the economic horizon.
According to the ILO World Employment and Social Outlook Trends 2024 report stated that over 5% of the world’s workforce is without a job.
ILO said this is a better situation than before the pandemic, but it isn’t set to last, as an extra two million people are expected to be looking for a job over the next 12 months.
The agency’s findings cited a new World Bank report released on Tuesday indicated that the global economy is on track for the slowest half-decade of growth in 30 years.
ILO noted that the majority of the world’s richest nations had seen living standards eroded, because of inflation, which is now in decline in many major economies in addition to the uncertain jobs market outlook.
The agency said that the erosion of living standards resulted from inflation is, “unlikely to be compensated quickly”.
ILO experts underscored that there are significant differences between higher and lower income countries.
The jobs gap rate (the number of jobless who are looking for work) in 2023 was 8.2 per cent in richer nations, it stood at 20.5 per cent in poorer countries.
The 2023 unemployment rate hit at 4.5 per cent for wealthier countries, it was 5.7 per cent in low-income countries.
ILO Director-General, Gilbert Houngbo warned that “falling living standards and weak productivity combined with persistent inflation create the conditions for greater inequality and undermine efforts to achieve social justice.
“And without greater social justice we will never have a sustainable recovery.” He called for workforce challenges overall to be tackled quickly and effectively.
The number of workers living in extreme poverty (earning less than US$2.15 per person per day) grew by about a million in 2023 despite declining after 2020.
The report noted that income inequality has widened, the trends show: the erosion of real disposable income, “bodes ill for aggregate demand and a more sustained economic recovery”.
It added that despite various policy initiatives to tackle the underground economy, the number of people employed informally is expected to remain static, accounted for 58 per cent of the global workforce in 2024.
ILO report revealed that WHO declared an end to COVID-19 as a public health emergency last May, but the aftershocks of the pandemic are still being felt.
It said that residual symptoms and health problems for 20% or so who suffered ‘long COVID’ persist for many and have impacted productivity.
The agency said that many who have re-entered the labor market post-pandemic tend not to be working the same number of hours while the number of sick days taken has increased significantly.
ILO stressed that women’s participation in the job market has bounced back quickly, but a notable gender gap still persists in emerging and developing nations.
Youth unemployment rates continue to present a challenge, ILO stated
The report found out that despite technological advances and increased investment, productivity growth has continued to slow.
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