Number of global employed to touch 208M in 2023, says ILO report

The number of unemployed globally will touch 208 million in 2023, with employment growth expected to slow down sharply to one percent compared to two percent in 2022,  as the world reels from the economic fallout of the war in Ukraine, high inflation and tighter monetary policy.

The number of unemployed people is expected to rise by three million in 2023, the International Labour Organization (ILO) said on Monday. 

Meanwhile, inflation will eat into real wages, the ILO added in the report on global trends coordinated by Richard Samans, Director of the ILO's Research Department.

"The slowdown in global employment growth means that we don't expect the losses incurred during the Covid-19 crisis to be recovered before 2025," said Samans.

The scarcity of new jobs will hit countries at a time when many are still recovering from the economic shock of the global pandemic and the coronavirus is tearing through China after Beijing lifted tight lockdown restrictions.

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Increasing poverty

Progress in reducing the number of informal jobs in the world is also likely to be reversed in the coming years, the ILO said.

The global jobs forecast is lower than the previous ILO estimate of 1.5 percent growth for 2023.

"The current slowdown means that many workers will have to accept lower quality jobs, often at very low pay, sometimes with insufficient hours," ILO said.

"Furthermore, as prices rise faster than nominal labour incomes, the cost-of-living crisis risks pushing more people into poverty."

The situation could worsen further if the global economy slows down, ILO added.

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