Global job crisis
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Global job crisis

What began as a crisis on the financial markets has become a global jobs crisis. The risk of increased unemployment has augmented, and the crisis is a direct threat to decent work across the globe. Responses to the crisis cannot be restricted to fiscal stimulus packages, and the social dimension of the crisis should not be ignored.

The International Labour Organization, representing actors of the real economy, plays its role to support its constituents as they seek to endure the crisis, prepare for recovery and shape a new fair globalization. The ILO Global Jobs Pact and the Decent Work Agenda provide the policy framework to confront the crisis. They equally lay the foundations for a more sustainable economic and social model in the future.

The ILO has set up a website to monitor the impact of the financial crisis.

What's new


  1. World of Work report 2012 "Better Jobs for a Better Economy"
    30 April 2012

    The new study examines the performance of different countries since the start of the global crisis through the prism of the quantity and quality of jobs.

  2. "Not an ordinary May 1st"
    1 May 2012

    Op ed from the ILO Director-General Juan Somavia on the occasion of International Worker's Day 2012.

Key documents

  1. ILO Global Jobs Pact

    The pact was adopted unanimously by the plenary session of the International Labour Conference on 19 June 2009. It includes principles and proposes initiatives related to the four pillars of Decent Work, gender mainstreaming and governance that should guide global, national and regional responses to the crisis.

  1. Global Employment Trends 2012

    On the eve of the World Economic Forum in Davos and the EU Summit in January 2012, the International Labour Organization (ILO) published its annual report on global employment. According to the report the world faces the “urgent challenge” of creating 600 million productive jobs over the next decade. It warns that after three years of crisis in global labour markets and against the prospect of a further deterioration of economic activity, there is a backlog of global unemployment of 200 million.

  2. G20 conclusions

    The G20 Leaders Summit in Cannes, November 2011 offered five sets of policy recommendations to be considered by G20 Leaders: accelerate job creation to ensure a sustained recovery and future growth, strengthen social protection systems and promote inclusive active labour market policies, place employment and poverty alleviation at the centre of national and global economic strategies,  improve the quality of jobs for our people, prepare our workforces for future challenges and opportunities.

    1. More information on the ILO and the G20

  3. ILO World of Work Report 2011

    On the eve of the G20 leaders summit the International Labour Organization (ILO) today launched the "World of Work Report 2011", one of its flagship reports. The report concludes that the global economy is on the verge of a new jobs recession that will delay economic recovery and may ignite more social unrest. The report also issued a "Snapshot of the European Union".

  4. Conclusions of the G20 Labour ministerial

    The G20 Labour and Employment Ministers’ made recommendations aimed at accelerating a job-rich recovery through policies included in the ILO’s Global Jobs Pact and Decent Work Agenda. The conclusions of the G20 Labour ministerial fed into the conclusions of the G20 Leaders Summit in Cannes. 

    1. More information on the ILO and the G20

  5. Short-term employment and labour market outlook and key challenges in G20 countries

    In preparation for the G20 Employment and Labour Ministers meeting held in Paris in September 2011, the ILO and the OECD produced a document on labour market developments in G20 countries and on policy measures taken in response to the crisis.

    1. More information on the ILO and the G20

  6. Building a sustainable, job-rich recovery

    Study on the origins of and policy responses to the 2008 financial crisis. The study was financed by and prepared for the use of the European Union

  7. Global Wage Report 2010 - 2011: Wage policies in times of crisis

    The second in a series of ILO reports focusing on wage developments, this volume reviews the global and regional wage trends during the years of the economic and financial crisis of 2008 and 2009.

  8. UN Brussels contribution to EU 2020

    Contribution including employment, social protection and standards, January 2010.

  9. "The Financial and Economic Crisis: A decent work response"

    Sets out comprehensively the ILO policy position on the crisis. Over 40 rescue and stimulus plans were assessed for the purposes of this paper and it proposes building blocks for effectively addressing the economic and financial crisis.

See also

  1. "The global jobs crisis: the G20 must act now to avoid a lost decade"
    2 November 2011

    Op-Ed by ILO Director-General Juan Somavia

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