Global job crisis

What began as a crisis in the financial markets has become a global jobs crisis. The risk of increased unemployment has increased, 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, that is governments, working together with representatives of employers and workers organizations, is playing its role within the UN and multilateral system, in particular with the European institutions, to support its constituents as they seek to weather the crisis, prepare for recovery and shape a new fair globalization. The ILO Global Jobs Pact of 19 June 2009 and the Decent Work Agenda provides the policy framework to confront the crisis, while also laying the foundations for a more sustainable economic and social model in the future.

Please follow the links to see how the ILO in Brussels is working to address the crisis in three key areas: the crisis in the EU, the development crisis and the crisis in the Benelux countries.

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

Key documents:

• Informal meeting of EU heads of State or Government, 17 september 2009 (Pdf - 135kB). The informal meeting of the European Council of 17 September 2009 agreed on a common EU position for the September G-20 Summit in Pittsburgh. The European Council explicitly welcomed the adoption of the ILO Global Jobs Pact.
• ILO Global Jobs Pact (Pdf - 143kB). 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 national, regional and global responses to the crisis.
• The Financial and Economic Crisis: A decent work response (Pdf - 834kB) 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. This report was endorsed by the March 2009 High-level Tripartite Meeting (Pdf - 160kB).
• In the Conclusions of the G20, the leaders committed to support those affected by the crisis by creating employment opportunities, and through income support, and called on the ILO to assess measures taken and those necessary for the future.