Summary:
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The ILO estimates that the number of hours worked was 1.5% below pre-pandemic levels in the third quarter of 2022, which translates to a 40 million full-time employee shortage.
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Up inflation, down wagesThe 10th edition of the Monitor on the World of Work says that rising inflation makes real wages go down in many countries.
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According to the analysis, there will likely be further economic disparity between rich and developing countries due to rising labor market inequality.
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The Monitor concludes that deteriorating labor market circumstances are impacting employment growth and job quality, noting that there is already evidence of a significant slowdown in the labour market.
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The UN agency said that a quick end to the war in Ukraine, as called for in the resolutions of the ILO Governing Body, will help improve the state of employment worldwide even more.
The ILO estimates that the number of hours worked was 1.5% below pre-pandemic levels in the third quarter of 2022, which translates to a 40 million full-time employee shortage.
Up inflation, down wages
The 10th edition of the Monitor on the World of Work says that rising inflation makes real wages go down in many countries.
The COVID-19 problem, which primarily hurt people with low incomes in several countries, also caused significant drops in revenue. According to the analysis, there will likely be further economic disparity between rich and developing countries due to rising labor market inequality.
The Monitor says that throughout 2022, several crises affected the workplace in a big way and happened at the same time. These crises were exacerbated by the Ukraine crisis and its ensuing detrimental spillover consequences.
Energy and food are in flux.
Food and energy prices are rising, real wages are decreasing, inequality is getting worse, policy options are getting fewer, and developing countries are getting more in debt.
A slowdown in economic development and overall demand will also result in a decrease in the market for labor, as hiring decisions are affected by uncertainty and poor expectations.
The Monitor concludes that deteriorating labor market circumstances are impacting employment growth and job quality, noting that there is already evidence of a significant slowdown in the labour market.
Beginning in 2022, the number of hours worked worldwide began to rise rapidly, especially among women and those in higher-skilled occupations.
However, this trend was fueled by a rise in non-formal employment, putting 15 years of formalization gains in jeopardy.
Unity to stop the war
According to the ILO, initiatives like the UN Global Accelerator on Jobs and Social Protection aim to create 400 million jobs and provide assistance to the four billion people who have no other means of support if they become ill or are injured at work, requiring a firm commitment.
The UN agency said that a quick end to the war in Ukraine, as called for in the resolutions of the ILO Governing Body, will help improve the state of employment worldwide even more.
ILO Director-General Gilbert Houngbo said, “Comprehensive, integrated, and balanced policies will be needed nationally and internationally to deal with this deeply worrying global employment situation and to stop a large global labor market slump.”
“We need to put in place a wide range of policy tools, such as interventions in the prices of public goods, the rerouting of windfall profits, strengthening income security through social protection, increasing income support, and targeted measures to help the most vulnerable individuals and businesses,” the report states.
