839 million workers living on less than US$2 a day, says ILO

The ILO which released its annual Global Employment Trends for 2014 said even though the number of working poor continues to decline globally, the pace is still slower than during previous decades.However, the report stated that global unemployment increased by five million people in 2013 compared to 2012 figures.It said, “Almost 202 million people were […]

The ILO which released its annual Global Employment Trends for 2014 said even though the number of working poor continues to decline globally, the pace is still slower than during previous decades.
However, the report stated that global unemployment increased by five million people in 2013 compared to 2012 figures.
It said, “Almost 202 million people were unemployed in 2013 around the world, an increase of five million compared with the year before. This reflects the fact that employment is not expanding sufficiently fast to keep up with the growing labour force.”
The ILO added that if current trends continue, global unemployment will increase by 13 million people, reaching 215 million by 2018, stressing that young people will be affected disproportionately, pointing out that 75.4 million young people (15 – 24) were unemployed in 2013.
It added that the number of vulnerable people (self-employment or work by contributing family workers), which expanded by around one per cent last year accounts for almost 48% of total employment with persons in this group more likely than “wage and salaried workers” to have limited or no access to social security or secure income.
According to the report, informal employment remained widespread in most developing countries, noting that the lack of formal employment opportunities is likely to constitute a barrier to a sustainable further reduction in poverty.
To significantly improve the employment outlook, the ILO called for among other measures, a “rebalancing of macroeconomic policies and increased labour incomes” and greater attention to labour market and social policies.