Global Unemployment Likely To Return To Pre-Pandemic Level In 2023: ILO Report

Global unemployment is likely to return to pre-Covid level in 2023, as per the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) latest report released on Friday, June 2. The report pitched for worldwide financial support for job creation and social protection during multiple crises and shocks, including inflation and the Ukraine situation.

The report also suggested policy steps like a wider social security net to combat the crisis and ensure recovery and reconstruction. While large emerging economies, such as India, are returning to solid growth, low-income countries are facing high levels of debt, further constraining their efforts to promote decent and productive employment, the report said.

Increase In Global Inequalities

Gilbert F. Houngbo, ILO Director General, said the findings were a stark reminder of the increase in global inequalities, as reported by The Hindu. He added that investing in people through jobs and social protection would help narrow the gap between the rich and the poor. This is why the ILO is launching a Global Coalition for Social Justice, as it would bring together a wide range of multilateral bodies and stakeholders. It would also help position social justice as the keystone of a global recovery and prioritise it for national, regional, and international politics and actions.

The report emphasises the importance of creating fiscal space for social investments in low-income countries. The latest estimates by the ILO are that the global unemployment rate will fall by 0.1 percentage points in 2023. This implies a decline of one million globally unemployed people, which is due to highly anticipated labour market resilience in high-income countries in the face of the economic slump, according to the report.

It added that there are signs that more interest rate hikes in high-income countries would be limited as central bankers start to prioritise concerns about the economy’s health. Meanwhile, interest rates in several low- and middle-income countries are expected to remain stable or decline.

New evidence suggested that implementing a social protection floor for older people could contribute to economic growth, mainly through the acceleration of the demographic transition and decreasing countries’ reliance on agriculture.

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