Papers and Briefs

August 2023

  1. ILO Working paper 96

    Generative AI and Jobs: A global analysis of potential effects on job quantity and quality

    21 August 2023

    This study assesses the potential global exposure of occupations to Generative AI, particularly GPT-4. It predicts that the overwhelming effect of the technology will be to augment occupations, rather than to automate them. The greatest impact is likely to be in high and upper-middle income countries due to a higher share of employment in clerical occupations. As clerical jobs are an important source of female employment, the effects are highly gendered. Insights from this study underline the need for proactive policies that focus on job quality, ensure fair transitions, and that are based on dialogue and adequate regulation.

July 2023

  1. ILO Working paper 95

    Artificial intelligence in human resource management: a challenge for the human-centred agenda?

    25 July 2023

    This paper offers guidance as to when and where the use of AI in HRM should be encouraged, and where it is likely to cause more problems than it solves.

June 2023

  1. ILO Working paper 94

    Who creates jobs with broad skillsets? The crucial role of firms

    26 June 2023

    Using matched firm-level and online job vacancy data from India, this study finds significant heterogeneity in skill requirements across firms within the same occupations. It also shows that more competitive and innovative firms require digital skills and specific combinations of digital and other skills. The study highlights that firms are not passive recipients of new technologies, but rather play a crucial role in defining the changing nature of work.

  2. ILO Working paper 92

    Occupational Safety and Health, Frontline Workers, and the COVID-19 Pandemic in the U.S.

    07 June 2023

    The Report provides an overview of U.S. occupational safety and health and related laws providing protection to workers in the US; traces the effects of the pandemic on workers in the U.S. and reviews the federal agencies’ and states’ responses to the risk of COVID-19 within workplaces.

March 2023

  1. ILO Working paper 89

    What has been driving work-to-work transitions in the emerging world? – A comparative study of Indonesia and South Africa

    23 March 2023

    This paper examines the shape, prominence and drivers of work-to-work transitions in South Africa and Indonesia – two middle-income countries with similar development levels yet different labour market characteristics.

  2. ILO Working paper 90

    OSH and the COVID-19 pandemic: A legal analysis

    15 March 2023

    This study provides an analysis of how occupational safety and health (OSH) regulation responded to the circumstances of key workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

February 2023

  1. ILO Working paper 88

    The impact of Covid-19 on South African migrant wage workers and the self-employed

    28 February 2023

    When Covid-19 struck the South African government declared some of the strictest lockdowns worldwide. The impact of lockdowns on the working classes was especially severe. Initially many workers were left with no income, leading to warnings that a pandemic of hunger may eclipse the deadliness of the Covid-19 pandemic.

December 2022

  1. ILO Working paper 85

    Ride-hailing versus traditional taxi services: The experiences of taxi drivers in Lebanon

    05 December 2022

    This paper provides insights into the working conditions of platform-based taxi drivers, and engages critically with the development of taxi platforms in Lebanon and shows its dependence on venture capital funds, the “non‑uberized” economy, the State and the non-market society in Lebanon, which is experiencing a structural transformation of its economy and labour market.

November 2022

  1. ILO Working paper 83

    Labour protests during the pandemic : The case of hospital and retail workers in 90 countries

    07 November 2022

    With a novel methodology searching news events from world’s largest news agencies via the online GDELT project, this report documents protest of key workers against their working conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic in 90 countries.

October 2022

  1. ILO Working paper 81

    Key workers in Malaysia during the pandemic

    17 October 2022

    During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Malaysian government prioritized health and economic stimulus packages for the sectors considered “key” for the economy and gave little recognition to the workers making contributions to the functioning of daily lives.