Global Employment Trends 2011: The challenge of a jobs recovery

The annual Global Employment Trends (GET) report provides the latest global and regional estimates of employment and unemployment, employment by sector, vulnerable employment, labour productivity and working poverty, while also analysing country-level issues and trends in the labour market. Taking into account macroeconomic trends and forecasts, the GET includes a short-term outlook for labour markets around the world.

This report is the first to take stock of the labour market situation during the recovery from the global economic crisis. It incorporates the most recent labour market information available to explore the state of the labour market globally and regionally.

Chapter 1 focuses on the macroeconomic context for growth and employment, and notes that the persistently high levels of unemployment stand in stark contrast to the recovery seen in several key macroeconomic indicators: global GDP, consumption, world trade and many equity markets had all recovered by 2010, surpassing pre-crisis levels. Despite rapid economic growth in 2010 the global unemployment rate stood at 6.2% versus 6.3% in 2009 and well above the 5.6% rate in 2007.

Chapter 2 provides an overview of global trends in employment, unemployment, labour force participation, vulnerable employment, working poverty and other key indicators. The report finds that there were around 40 million more working poor at the extreme US$ 1.25 level in 2009 than would have been expected in the absence of the global economic crisis. An estimated 630 million workers (one in five workers in the world) were living with their families at the extreme US$ 1.25 a day level in 2009. Globally, an estimated 1.53 billion workers were in vulnerable employment in 2009, which corresponds to a vulnerable employment rate of 50.1%.

Chapter 3 looks at developments across the various regions of the world. In both Chapters 2 and 3, extensive use is made of country-level data to enrich the global and regional analysis, but also to draw attention to important differences in terms of trends and challenges within regions. Chapter 4 offers policy considerations. It warns that a "narrow" focus on reducing fiscal deficits without addressing job creation will further weaken employment prospects for the 205 million unemployed in 2010.