Concept Note - United Nations Expert Group Meeting on the Challenge of Builing Employment for a Sustainable Recovery

The Division for Social Policy and Development (DSPD) of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs organized, in collaboration with the International Labour Organization an Expert Group Meeting on “The Challenge of Building Employment for a Sustainable Recovery”. The meeting which took place on 23-24 June in Geneva brought together specialists to undertake a review of responses to the global jobs crisis in different countries and regions of the world and considered concrete policies and strategies to create productive, decent employment during the recovery.

The Expert Group Meeting was convened in the context of General Assembly resolution ECOSOC resolution 2010/L.5, in which the Economic and Social Council decided that the priority theme for the 2011-2012 review and policy cycle of the Commission should be “Poverty Eradication, taking into account its relationship to social integration and full employment and decent work for all”, and ECOSOC Draft decision E/2011/L.4., in which the Council decided to adopt the theme “Promoting productive capacity, employment and decent work to eradicate poverty in the context of inclusive, sustainable and equitable economic growth at all levels for achieving the Millennium Development Goals” for its 2012 Annual Ministerial Review. The outcomes of the meeting provided important input to the work of the Commission and ECOSOC, and information for national and international debates on the challenge of creating employment.

Background

The financial and economic crisis has led to a global jobs crisis, with sharp falls in employment and wages in both developed and developing countries. The number of jobless persons is estimated to have reached 210 million in mid-2010, up from 178 million in 2007. Global growth in real wages was cut by half in 2008 and 2009, compared to earlier years. In developing countries, the proportion of workers in vulnerable employment has increased, working conditions in the informal sector have worsened and, as a result, working poverty has risen after some earlier progress. These trends compound employment deficits that already existed before the crisis.

Governments in many countries have already abandoned the fiscal stimulus plans and employment-generation measures they implemented at the onset of the crisis and are moving towards austerity, reduced public sector social spending and job-cuts. The move towards fiscal tightening threatens to make the global jobs crisis a long-term problem.

Yet sustainable development and the overarching goal of poverty eradication require inclusive, equitable economic growth which generates more and better jobs. Productive employment is also an essential means of social integration, as it provides income security and access to social protection, and facilitates integration into social networks. The effects of long-lasting labour distress on youth, whose unemployment rates are more than twice those of the adult population, are of particular concern; early labour market experiences shape youth’s lifelong earning potential and the social wellbeing of current and future generations of young people.

At the High-Level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly on the MDGs, in 2010, Governments reiterated the need to create full and productive employment and decent work for all, recalling the commitment made at the World Summit for Social Development in 1995. They also committed to adopting forward-looking policies which increase employment opportunities and lead to sustained, inclusive and equitable economic growth and sustainable development. However, the prevailing economic policy framework has not led to a sustained improvement in productive employment, and the ongoing move towards fiscal consolidation will only worsen the global jobs crisis. It is time to rethink national and international strategies conducive to job-rich growth.

Objectives

The Expert Group Meeting aimed at informing ongoing national and international debates on the challenge of building productive employment and sending a strong message on the importance of promoting job-rich growth to reduce poverty and maintain social cohesion.

The Meeting brought together experts from different regions and countries to present recent research on the aforementioned topics and discuss concrete policies and strategies to promote job-rich growth and strengthen national and international efforts to create productive employment and decent jobs as an effective development strategy for poverty eradication. The Meeting had two main objectives:

• To undertake a review of national and international responses to the global jobs crisis, identifying best practices in preserving existing jobs and in generating new, decent jobs, and discussing lessons learned;
• To consider strategies, at the national and international levels, to create productive employment during the recovery as a central strategy for poverty eradication and social integration, so as to assist Member States to adopt policies consistent with the Global Jobs Pact.

The Meeting produced the following outputs:

• recommendations and proposals for action, including new initiatives;
• expert papers on the themes of the Meeting
• a report on the deliberations and outcomes of the Meeting.

Organization

The Expert Group Meeting was organized by the Division for Social Policy and Development (DSPD) of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs in collaboration with the International Labour Organization (ILO), at the ILO Headquarters, in Geneva, Switzerland, on 23-24 June.

The discussions focused on both developed and developing countries, and special attention was paid to the special situation of youth and other vulnerable groups.

A total of 12 experts participated in the meeting. The Division for Social Policy and Development of UNDESA met the travel and per diem costs of all the invited experts. .

Other participants included staff members of DSPD, staff members of other parts of the United Nations System, including the ILO and UNCTAD, as well as the World Bank and the IMF.