Briefs
Research brief
The potential of import bans to address forced labour
This research brief examines the growing use of forced labour import bans as a policy tool to address labour rights abuses in the global economy. It provides an evidence-based overview of how such bans operate in practice, their potential impacts on...
Child Labour in the Americas: Regional Technical Brief
This technical brief provides an overview of regional trends in child labour elimination, progress toward global commitments, policy responses, and persistent gaps across sectors.
Brief
Preliminary employment assessment of the impact of Cyclone Ditwah in Sri Lanka
Up to 374,000 workers affected, potential income losses accruing to US$48 million per month, 16% of national GDP at risk.
Regional Research Brief
Skills dynamics in the Arab region: New evidence from online vacancy data
This regional research brief examines skills dynamics in selected Arab countries using online vacancy data to shed light on how labour market demands are evolving. It provides evidence to inform skills development and employment policies in the...
Building Rights-Based Unemployment Protection Schemes: Guidance from ILO Social Security Standards
As crises become more frequent and complex, robust unemployment protection systems are essential to safeguard income security and support full, productive and freely chosen employment. This new ILO brief provides practical guidance for building...
Key research findings
Assessment of the drivers and constraints for occupational safety and health improvement and social protection of workers in the castor...
This publication summarizes the findings of the ILO’s 2024 assessment conducted under the project “Improving Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) and Access to Social Protection for Workers in the Agri-business Sectors.” It examines the...
Research Brief
Measuring the greenness of jobs in emerging economies: A big data text analysis approach
This brief presents a new big data and NLP-based approach to measure how green jobs are in emerging economies using a refined ILO green dictionary. It provides practical evidence on green skills, job quality and wages to inform labour market and...
Research Brief
Extending the productive working life of older workers: the role of human resource management
This brief explores how human resource management (HRM) practices can help extend the productive working life of older workers, addressing both social justice and economic efficiency. It highlights the need for age-inclusive, supportive, and...
World Employment and Social Outlook 2025: Asia and the Pacific May Update
This Asia and the Pacific May Update of the World Employment and Social Outlook 2025 examines recent trends in employment growth, the impact of global uncertainties and policy measures to support workers and enterprises in Asia and the Pacific.
Research Brief
Horizontal inequalities in the labour market: A transnational review of the employment and wage outcomes of vulnerable groups
This brief reviews global evidence on employment and wage inequalities affecting vulnerable groups, using ILO microdata. It underscores the need for targeted policies to promote inclusion and equality in the labour market.
Research Brief
Generative AI and jobs: A 2025 update
This brief summarizes an ILO Working paper that refines the global assessment of occupational exposure to generative AI. It presents an updated methodology combining task-level data, expert input, and AI predictions to support more accurate analysis...
ILO brief - Social Protection Spotlight
A fighting chance: Closing social protection gaps in small island developing states as climate justice in action
This brief builds on the focus of the ILO World Social Protection Report 2024–26, which examines the role of universal social protection in supporting climate action and a just transition and the manner in which social protection can accelerate...
Research Brief
How and when will AI impact the economy: Evidence from China
This brief introduces a new framework to estimate when and how AI will impact China’s economy by analyzing the potential for automation across different job tasks. It provides policymakers and researchers with a quantitative tool to assess AI’s...
Research Brief
Measuring Quality of Employment in Emerging Economies: A Methodology for Assessing Job Amenities using Big Data
This brief presents a novel methodology that leverages online vacancy data and natural language processing (NLP) to measure job amenities across different country contexts.
ILO Brief
Women and the economy: 30 years after the Beijing Declaration
This ILO Brief marks the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action by providing a comprehensive statistical snapshot of gender equality in the world of work. It highlights that while progress has been made, it has been...
Research Brief
Generative AI and the media and culture industry
The brief explores the transformative impact of Generative AI (GenAI) on the media and culture industry, analyzing its effects on job exposure, skills demand, and employment conditions. It highlights the need for policy frameworks, ethical AI...
Research Brief
Trends in educational and income mobility
This brief explores trends in educational and income mobility, highlighting disparities and policy implications across advanced and developing economies.
ILO-UNV Joint publication
Volunteering, unpaid care work and gender in lower-income countries
In recognition of the interactions and similarities between volunteering and unpaid care work, this research paper released as part of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) partnership on the...
Research Brief
Developing a New Method to Uncover Skills Trends in Emerging Economies Using Online Data and NLP techniques
This research brief outlines a novel methodology using online big data and natural language processing (NLP) to analyze transferable skills trends across diverse sectors and countries, offering insights into skills demand, supply, mismatches, and...
Research Brief
A new chapter for the ILO’s textual assets: Applying Generative AI to Labour Force Survey questionnaires
This brief highlights the use of Generative AI to create a database of Labour Force Survey questions, combining AI vision capabilities and human verification to ensure accurate data extraction. It introduces tools for digitization, semantic search,...