Employment update

Asia-Pacific: Quality and quantity of jobs dropping

22 October 2012

Slowing growth in many Asian countries has accentuated labour market challenges in a region that has the world’s largest youth population, and where precarious work is widespread.

News

Measuring Informality: a new Statistical Manual on the informal sector and informal employment

05 June 2012

The ILO has released an edited version of a Manual to help constituents around the world, especially in statistical offices and ministries of labour, to define, quantify and characterize the contribution of the informal sector and informal employment at national level.

Feature

Social Protection for Thailand’s Informal Economy Workers

05 April 2012

People working in the informal economy are vulnerable and often lack social protection. When natural disasters such as the 2011 flood in Thailand strike, they are frequently left without adequate support. But now the International Labour Organization (ILO) and other United Nations agencies are working with the Thai Government to change this and create a suitable social protection system. Alice Molinier and Kakkanang Ghettalae, ILO Social Protection Consultants, and Poonsap Tulaphan, Foundation for Labour and Employment Promotion report.

Feature

Giving an ancient craft a new shine: Training youth in the brassware sector in India

27 March 2012

Low levels of education, lack of skills, diplomas or certificates within a technical field severely limit the chances of gainful employment for a vast number of youth in India. A new programme of skills developing and training, however, is providing an alternative. Neelam Agnihotri, ILO communication officer in New Delhi, reports how this initiative is providing new jobs for youth in the centuries-old traditional brassware industry in Moradabad, northern India.

News

Second conference of regional Alliance of labour inspection of South East Europe, Azerbaijan and Ukraine.

09 November 2009

Following it's activities to strengthen networking and alliances among labour inspection and labour administration systems, LAB/ADMIN jointly with SRO Budapest office has participated in the above mentioned event. Subjects such as Undeclared work, coordinated labour inspection, risk assessment and occupational accident prevention were discussed and some majors follow up points were concluded. For more information please contact Maria Luz Vega, vega@ilo.org.

Decent work and globalization

Informal employment curbs trade benefits for developing countries

12 October 2009

A joint study from the International Labour Organization and the WTO has found that high incidence of informal employment in the developing world suppresses countries' ability to benefit from trade opening by creating poverty traps for workers in job transition. “The study confirms what we know from experience, that by promoting complementarity between decent work objectives and trade, financial and labour market policies, developing countries are much better placed to benefit from trade opening, advance the social dimension of globalization, and to cope with the current crisis” said ILO Director-General Juan Somavia.

News

Technical workshop on labour inspection and undeclared work

04 August 2009

The Labour Administration and Inspection Programme (LAB/ADMIN) in collaboration with other Technical Units such as MIGRANT, DECLARATION and the ILO Sub Regional office in Budapest is organising a national technical meeting on labour inspection and undeclared work. This is going to be held in Budapest from the 29 to 30 of October 2009. We would like to invite you to take part in this meeting and to share with your views and your experiences.

Statement

H.E. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia. Speech to the 'High-Level Forum on "Working out of Poverty: Decent Work Approach to Development and growth in Africa" in Monrovia on 8-9 September 2008

14 November 2008

Article

In Asia, informal work shifts but remains massive

09 August 2007

Despite a GDP growth rate twice the world average, more than 1 billion Asians still work in the informal economy. Most lack basic social protection and hold unproductive jobs with low earnings. An ILO report prepared for the Asian Employment Forum held on 13-15 August says the rapid shift from rural and agricultural employment to urban-based manufacturing and service-oriented work in developing Asia will continue and in some countries accelerate. ILO Online reports.

Article

The spicy taste of entrepreneurship: street food sellers and economic development

09 February 2007

In Bangkok, food sold by street vendors provides more than just a cheap and healthy meal. For tens of thousands of people it is a vital source of income and a recipe for reducing poverty. According to a study recently published by the International Labour Organization (ILO), street vendors shouldn't be seen as a nuisance and a traffic obstruction but as entrepreneurs who generate "cultural capital" while building a healthier future for themselves and their families. The study says the right policies and positive social attitudes can benefit not just the vendors and their customers but entire economies as well. ILO Online reports.