Guy Ryder: Better jobs and higher wages can reverse slow-growth trap

French President François Hollande addressing international agencies' leaders

PARIS (ILO News)—A weak recovery from the economic crisis risks giving way to a “slow-growth” trap with dire implications for global employment, stated ILO Director-General Guy Ryder on the occasion of a meeting on Friday with French President François Hollande and the heads of international economic agencies.

“Demand for labour is weak and hiring is not keeping pace with the growth of the world’s workforce,” said Ryder, adding that the quality of the jobs that are being created often leaves much to be desired.

“In many developing countries, any growth in employment is largely informal and of a subsistence character. In advanced economies, most of the jobs being created are precarious in one way or another and often low paid,” he said.

Ryder said the ILO supported the efforts of the IMF and Work Bank Group to spur public investment in infrastructure. “But for this to catalyse private investment and growth, we also need to see wages rising, especially amongst the lowest paid and a reinforcement, not weakening, of social protection systems,” he said.

Besides the OECD and the ILO, the IMF, the World Bank and the World Trade Organization also attended the meeting.