Trade and employment

Further Information

International trade and foreign investment have important effects on employment and labour conditions. An adequate understanding of these effects is of critical importance in formulating effective national employment strategies in today's globalizing world, as well as in identifying feasible policies at the international level that could facilitate employment promotion.

What's new

31 August - 1 September 2009, WTO, Geneva, Switzerland
WTO-ILO workshop on global trade and employment
The WTO and the International Labour Organization (ILO) hosted a workshop of leading international researchers on global trade and employment at the WTO in Geneva on 31 August — 1 September 2009, with support by the ICC Research Foundation. (Workshop)
20 April 2009, Geneva, Switzerland
ILO/WBI Geneva Dialogue on Trade and Labor: Economic slowdown, openness to trade and labor market adjustment (Seminar)
Brazil in the Global Economy: Measuring the gains from trade - [pdf 2439 KB]
01 April 2009 - Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, UNDP and International Labour Organization. (Report)

Key resources

A Fair globalization: Creating opportunities for all
World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization (Web page)
The global employment challenge - Buy now
This volume offers an in-depth analysis of the state of employment in the world today, providing a detailed and comprehensive picture of the serious challenges faced by today's policy-makers... (Book)
ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization - [pdf 134 KB]
Adopted by the International Labour Conference at its Ninety-seventh Session, Geneva, 10 June 2008. (Publication)
Trade and employment: Challenges for policy research - Buy now
This study provides an impartial view of what can be said, on the relationship between trade and employment, an often contentious issue of public debate. Its focus is on the connections between trade policies, and labour and social policies. ... (Book)
Globalization and Informal jobs in Developing Countries - A joint study from the International Labour Organization and the WTO - [pdf 1261 KB]
This study is a product of the collaborative research programme of the International Institute for Labour Studies at the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Secretariat of the World Trade Organization (WTO). ... (Publication)
Globalization, Flexibilization and Working Conditions in Asia and the Pacific - Buy now
This unique study reviews employment conditions in Asia and the Pacific in the context of globalization and the increasing pressures towards flexibilization. It places a strong focus on the divergent experiences of individual workers regarding their employment conditions... (Book)