1 Global employment and social trends

Abstract

Inclusive and well‐functioning labour markets are central to the ILO's mandate of delivering decent work and supporting social justice. This chapter presents latest data on the state of labour markets at the global level and by country income grouping. Although the labour market challenges related to quality of work, unemployment and gender inequality are universal, their specific character and degree of priority differ depending on the region and a country's level of development. In low‐income countries, employment relationships all too often do not even enable people to escape poverty. And whereas working poverty generally decreases with economic development, other labour market achievements, such as formality, access to social security systems, job security, collective bargaining and compliance with labour standards and rights at work, are still elusive, to varying degrees, for many countries.