Employment

Consumers increasingly bring pressure to bear, first, on public policies governing the food and drink industries and, second, on the social responsibility of enterprises. Consumers’ expectations in turn will determine the level of awareness of entrepreneurs and workers and the quality of investments and jobs in the industry.

Useful links/resources

• ILO Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy
• ILO Labour Statistics data  

Employment trends

More than 22 million people are employed globally in the food and drink industries in countries where official statistics are available. The figure has more than doubled since the end of the 1990s.. These figures only apply to the mainstream formal economy. ILO and UNIDO statistics show declines in employment in the food and drink industry in many industrialized countries, often as a result of relocation of processing operations to developing and transition countries. The upshot has been a steady growth in employment in the sector in many developing countries, for both men and women.

While traditionally, in the EU 25 grouping, the industry had been rather stable, in recent times its overall share of employment, apart from a peak for some countries in the 1999-2001 interval, has dropped quite dramatically. Although a steady upward trend continues in France, Italy and Spain both for men and women, the overall drop in the number of jobs in the region over the period 1999-2004 amounted to 15.2 per cent of the total workforce, falling from 4.4 million to 3.9 million in just five years. However, the food and drink industry still retains its status as the largest employer in the manufacturing sector in the EU grouping. While developing countries showed an encouraging increase of 3.0 per cent, some countries of Eastern and Central Europe suffered as much as a 28 per cent decline in employment. In South Africa, between 1999 and 2004, formal employment dropped by over 34,000 in the food processing industry or 19.3 per cent in a sector characterized by growing job insecurity and precarious terms of employment.

The ILO has in recent years analysed the food and drink sector in some countries of the Caribbean (Dominica and Guyana), Asia (the Philippines), Africa (Burkina Faso and Kenya), Latin America (Costa Rica, Mexico, Nicaragua and Peru). Among the issues considered are value chains, vulnerable groups, and the potential to develop small and medium enterprises.

Small and medium enterprises

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) characterize many developing countries and offer considerable employment opportunities in the food and drink industry, as in the case of Egypt and the Philippines. However, tripartite efforts are needed to boost the competitiveness and viability of such enterprises to ensure their long-term and effective contribution to national development.

Useful links/resources:

• Prospects for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in the food and drink industries in Guyana (pdf, 359k), Forde, Abdul Rahim, Sectoral Activities Programme Working Paper, WP.227, Geneva, 2005.
• Alimentation et boisson au Burkina Fasa: au-delà de la survie (pdf, 726k, available in French only), Sow, Dié Martin, Sectoral Activities Programme Working Paper, WP.228, Geneva, 2005.

Informal economy

The employment figures do not, however, cover the informal economy, which has functioned as a major safety net in providing jobs for large numbers of workers, particularly in developing countries.

Useful links/resources:

• Informal Economy, Undeclared Work and Labour Administration (pdf 480 KB), Jose Luis Daza, 2005,