ILO says global unemployment rate set to grow in 2024

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

GENEVA (AA) - Although joblessness and the jobs gap have both fallen below pre-pandemic levels, the International Labor Organization (ILO) on Wednesday said that global unemployment in 2024 is set to rise.

In its World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2024 report, the UN agency also voiced concern about growing social inequalities as "new vulnerabilities and multiple crises are eroding prospects for greater social justice."

According to the ILO report, an extra 2 million workers are expected to be looking for jobs in 2024, raising the global unemployment rate from 5.1% in 2023 to 5.2%.

Disposable incomes have declined in most G-20 countries, it said, adding that the erosion of living standards resulting from inflation is "unlikely to be compensated quickly."

Additionally, significant differences persist between higher- and lower-income countries. In 2023, the jobs gap rate was 8.2% in high-income countries and 20.5% in low-income ones, the report found. Similarly, in high-income countries, the 2023 unemployment rate remained at 4.5%, while in low-income countries, it was 5.7%.

The report warned that working poverty is also expected to continue. Although the number of workers living in extreme poverty declined rapidly after 2020, the number of workers living in extreme poverty – earning less than $2.15 per person per day in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms – still rose by about a million in 2023.

The number of workers living in moderate poverty climbed by 8.4 million in 2023, reaching less than $3.65 per day per person in PPP terms, it added.

Meanwhile, income inequality has widened and the erosion of real disposable income is concerning for aggregate demand and a sustained economic recovery.

Informal work rates are expected to remain static, accounting for about 58% of the global workforce in 2024, the report said.

"This report looks behind the headline labour market figures and what it reveals must give great cause for concern. It is starting to look as if these imbalances are not simply part of pandemic recovery but structural," ILO Director-General Gilbert F. Houngbo said in a press release.

"The workforce challenges it detects pose a threat to both individual livelihoods and businesses and it is essential that we tackle them effectively and fast," he said. "Falling living standards and weak productivity combined with persistent inflation create the conditions for greater inequality and undermine efforts to achieve social justice."

He warned that without greater social justice, there will not be a sustainable recovery.