Asia-Pacific needs to create more, better jobs says new employment trends report by ILO
The weak global economic recovery failed to translate into an improvement in the world’s labour markets in 2013, and as global unemployment worsened the largest increases came in East Asia and South Asia, according to a new report by the International Labour Organization (ILO).
21 January 2014
BANGKOK (ILO News) -The weak global economic recovery failed to translate into an improvement in the world’s labour markets in 2013, and as global unemployment worsened the largest increases came in East Asia1 and South Asia,2 according to a new report by the International Labour Organization (ILO).
The report also expresses concern about the quality of employment in Asia and the Pacific. In particular it notes the persistence of widespread informal employment and working poverty, and the significant challenges in finding decent work faced by young people and, in some countries, women.
The annual report, Global Employment Trends 2014, found that between 2012 and 2013 global unemployment increased by almost five million to 202 million, and more than 45 per cent of these additional jobseekers were in East Asia and South Asia. What’s more, more than 50 per cent of Asia-Pacific workers are in the informal sector – with little or no access to employment, health or social security – a higher proportion than any other global region except Latin American and the Caribbean.
The report notes that global economic recovery means profits are being made in many sectors, but these are mainly going into asset markets and not into the real economy, damaging long-term employment markets. The authors estimate that with current trends an additional 200 million jobs will be created by 2018, but this will not be enough to absorb the growing number of new labour market entrants.
“What is urgently needed is a policy re-think,” said ILO Director-General Guy Ryder, “Stronger efforts are needed to accelerate employment creation and to support enterprises that create jobs.”
“It is imperative that active labour market policies be implemented more forcefully to address inactivity and skills mismatch,” said Ekkehard Ernst, head of the Employment Trends Unit at the ILO Research Department and the main author of the report.
In East Asia it’s clear the global recession is still affecting jobseekers. Since 2007 unemployment in the subregion has increased by 8 million, to almost 40 million, and the region now accounts for almost one in five of the world’s unemployed. Among young people unemployment has worsened considerably, rising to more than 10 per cent with projections that it will continue to increase until 2018. By contrast the subregion has seen remarkable social development in the last two decades. While there are still almost 380 million own-account and contributing family workers, hundreds of millions of workers have moved into formal, salaried employment and working poverty is shrinking rapidly – since 1991 almost 465 million workers have moved out of poverty.
However the report warns that East Asia faces considerable labour market challenges because of the rapid structural transformation of its economies, and skills upgrading will be more and more critical if these improvements are to be sustained.
In South Asia employment is still focused around informal and agriculture work, which is generally poorly paid and lacks social protection. Overall, more than three in four workers are classified as in vulnerable employment, a proportion that has fallen only slightly in recent years. Around one in two workers are in agriculture and only one in five receive a salary or wage. Labour force participation rates remain among the lowest in the world (56 per cent in 2013), driven by the low proportion of women in the workforce. Where women do work they tend work in less productive jobs with lower earnings.
Slower economic growth combined with domestic issues may make labour market improvements difficult in the near future. However increasing investment in skills and infrastructure, combined with a large pool of young people, shows that some of the elements for creating more decent work are in place.
In South-East Asia and the Pacific3 employment expanded by 1.6 per cent in 2013, a marked deceleration compared to recent trends. Unemployment to 2018 is expected to average less than 4.5 per cent, with slightly higher rates among women. However, youth unemployment remains a major challenge for policy-makers. At 13 per cent unemployment among young people is approximately five times that of adults. Vulnerable employment rates also remain high (59 per cent), reflecting the poor quality of jobs in the sub-region.
Emerging challenges for the subregion include accelerating the shift from agriculture to higher-productivity activities, managing increasing migrant worker flows that will come with the ASEAN Economic Community, and the continuing high risk from and effects of natural disasters on livelihoods.
The report suggests a switch to more employment-friendly policies and rising labour incomes would boost economic growth and job creation. In both emerging and developing countries it is crucial to enhance investment in skills development, strengthen social protection floors and promote transitions to formal employment, it concludes.
1 East Asia: China, Hong Kong (China), Republic of Korea, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Macau (China), Mongolia, Taiwan (China)
2 South Asia: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka
3 South-East Asia and the Pacific
South-East Asia: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Timor-Leste, Indonesia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Viet Nam
Pacific Islands: Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands
Senior Communication & Public Information Officer, Asia-Pacific
Email
Tel.: +66 8989 50912
ILO Department of Communication and Public Information
[email protected]
Tel.: +41(0)22/799-7912
The report also expresses concern about the quality of employment in Asia and the Pacific. In particular it notes the persistence of widespread informal employment and working poverty, and the significant challenges in finding decent work faced by young people and, in some countries, women.
The annual report, Global Employment Trends 2014, found that between 2012 and 2013 global unemployment increased by almost five million to 202 million, and more than 45 per cent of these additional jobseekers were in East Asia and South Asia. What’s more, more than 50 per cent of Asia-Pacific workers are in the informal sector – with little or no access to employment, health or social security – a higher proportion than any other global region except Latin American and the Caribbean.
The report notes that global economic recovery means profits are being made in many sectors, but these are mainly going into asset markets and not into the real economy, damaging long-term employment markets. The authors estimate that with current trends an additional 200 million jobs will be created by 2018, but this will not be enough to absorb the growing number of new labour market entrants.
“What is urgently needed is a policy re-think,” said ILO Director-General Guy Ryder, “Stronger efforts are needed to accelerate employment creation and to support enterprises that create jobs.”
“It is imperative that active labour market policies be implemented more forcefully to address inactivity and skills mismatch,” said Ekkehard Ernst, head of the Employment Trends Unit at the ILO Research Department and the main author of the report.
In East Asia it’s clear the global recession is still affecting jobseekers. Since 2007 unemployment in the subregion has increased by 8 million, to almost 40 million, and the region now accounts for almost one in five of the world’s unemployed. Among young people unemployment has worsened considerably, rising to more than 10 per cent with projections that it will continue to increase until 2018. By contrast the subregion has seen remarkable social development in the last two decades. While there are still almost 380 million own-account and contributing family workers, hundreds of millions of workers have moved into formal, salaried employment and working poverty is shrinking rapidly – since 1991 almost 465 million workers have moved out of poverty.
However the report warns that East Asia faces considerable labour market challenges because of the rapid structural transformation of its economies, and skills upgrading will be more and more critical if these improvements are to be sustained.
In South Asia employment is still focused around informal and agriculture work, which is generally poorly paid and lacks social protection. Overall, more than three in four workers are classified as in vulnerable employment, a proportion that has fallen only slightly in recent years. Around one in two workers are in agriculture and only one in five receive a salary or wage. Labour force participation rates remain among the lowest in the world (56 per cent in 2013), driven by the low proportion of women in the workforce. Where women do work they tend work in less productive jobs with lower earnings.
Slower economic growth combined with domestic issues may make labour market improvements difficult in the near future. However increasing investment in skills and infrastructure, combined with a large pool of young people, shows that some of the elements for creating more decent work are in place.
In South-East Asia and the Pacific3 employment expanded by 1.6 per cent in 2013, a marked deceleration compared to recent trends. Unemployment to 2018 is expected to average less than 4.5 per cent, with slightly higher rates among women. However, youth unemployment remains a major challenge for policy-makers. At 13 per cent unemployment among young people is approximately five times that of adults. Vulnerable employment rates also remain high (59 per cent), reflecting the poor quality of jobs in the sub-region.
Emerging challenges for the subregion include accelerating the shift from agriculture to higher-productivity activities, managing increasing migrant worker flows that will come with the ASEAN Economic Community, and the continuing high risk from and effects of natural disasters on livelihoods.
The report suggests a switch to more employment-friendly policies and rising labour incomes would boost economic growth and job creation. In both emerging and developing countries it is crucial to enhance investment in skills development, strengthen social protection floors and promote transitions to formal employment, it concludes.
1 East Asia: China, Hong Kong (China), Republic of Korea, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Macau (China), Mongolia, Taiwan (China)
2 South Asia: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka
3 South-East Asia and the Pacific
South-East Asia: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Timor-Leste, Indonesia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Viet Nam
Pacific Islands: Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands
For further information please visit GET2014 webpage or contact:
Sophy FisherSenior Communication & Public Information Officer, Asia-Pacific
Tel.: +66 8989 50912
ILO Department of Communication and Public Information
[email protected]
Tel.: +41(0)22/799-7912