Context:

• The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has recently released the World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2020 (WESO) report.

About International Labour Organisation:

• It is created in 1919, as part of the Treaty of Versailles that ended World War I, to reflect the belief that universal and lasting peace can be accomplished only if it is based on social justice. It became a specialized agency of the United Nations in 1946.
• It is a tripartite organization, the only one of its kind bringing together representatives of governments, employers and workers in its executive bodies. It is Headquartered at Geneva in Switzerland.
• India is a founder member of the International Labour Organization.

Key Findings of the WESO Report:

• It analyses key labour market issues, including unemployment, labour underutilisation, working poverty, income inequality, labour income share and factors that exclude people from decent work.
• Global Unemployment-The number of people unemployed around the world stands at some 188 million.Some 267 million young people aged 15-24 are not in employment, education or training, and many more endure substandard working condition.
• Working Poverty-defined as earning less than USD 3.20 per day in purchasing power parity terms.It affects more than 630 million workers or one in five of the global working population.
• Unpaid Work-over 165 million people do not have enough paid work, and 120 million have either given up actively searching for work or otherwise lack access to the labour market. Almost half a billion people are working fewer paid hours than they would like or lack adequate access to paid work.

• Future Status of Global Unemployment- It is projected to increase by around 2.5 million in 2020. Though, global unemployment has been roughly stable for the last nine years. Moderate or extreme working poverty is expected to increase in 2020-21 in developing countries, increasing the obstacles to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 1 on eradicating poverty everywhere by 2030.

Reasons for the increase in Unemployment:

• Global Economic Slowdown- It is one of the major reasons for not creating enough new jobs to absorb new entrants to the labour market. In addition, many African countries are experiencing a drop in real incomes and a rise in poverty.
• Rising Protectionism- A rise in trade restrictions and protectionism restricts national as well as global employment generation.
• Decreasing Value of Human Capital- Labour underutilisation and poor-quality jobs mean our economies and societies are missing out on the potential benefits of a huge pool of human talent.
• Inequalities- Persisting and substantial work-related inequalities (Gender, age and geographical location) and exclusion are preventing from finding decent work and better futures. These inequalities also limit both individual opportunity and economic growth.

Recommendations of the Report:

• It suggests countries to ensure that economic growth and development occurs in a way that leads to the reduction of poverty and better working conditions.
• It also recommends for structural transformation, technological upgrading and diversification in global as well as National Economies.