ILO pegs global unemployment rate at 5.2 per cent in 2024
International Labour Organisations has projected the global unemployment rate a tad higher at 5.2% in 2024 compared to 5.1% in 2023 and said that working poverty will persist while the income inequality will widen, suggesting a need for greater social justice for a sustainable recovery.
In its World Employment and Social Outlook Trends: 2024 report, released on Wednesday, the ILO said labour markets have shown surprising resilience despite deteriorating economic conditions, but recovery from the pandemic remains uneven as new vulnerabilities and multiple crises are eroding prospects for greater social justice.
According to the report, both the unemployment rate and the jobs gap rate, which is the number of persons without employment who are interested in finding a job, have fallen below pre-pandemic levels with the unemployment rate at 5.1% last year compared to 5.3% in 2022.
“However, beneath these numbers fragility is starting to emerge,” it said, projecting that both the labour market outlook and global unemployment will worsen.
“In 2024 an extra two million workers are expected to be looking for jobs, raising the global unemployment rate from 5.1% in 2023 to 5.2%.”
As per the report, disposable incomes have declined in the majority of G20 countries and, generally, the erosion of living standards resulting from inflation is, “unlikely to be compensated quickly”.
Pointing towards the differences between higher and lower income countries, ILO said the jobs gap rate in 2023 was 8.2%t in high-income countries while it stood at 20.5% in the low-income group.
