GENEVA, Jan 16 (KUNA) -- Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Gilbert F. Houngbo said on Thursday that geopolitical tensions, climate change costs and debt repayment issues exert significant pressure on global labor markets, further slowing down the global economic recovery. Answering a question from the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) during a press briefing in Geneva to present the organization's new report titled "World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2025" Houngbo said "The impact of the geopolitical crises especially in the Middle East Ukraine and Yemen has been immense on labor markets.
The situation in Gaza has been particularly devastating and while we are hopeful that the ceasefire there will lead to lasting peace we also hope for similar resolutions in Ukraine Sudan and Yemen." He ddding, "These crises have not only disrupted economies but also made it incredibly difficult to collect reliable data affecting our understanding of the full extent of the damage to job markets." The ILO's report indicates that the global economy experienced a slowdown in growth reaching 3.2 percent in 2024 compared to 3.3 percent in 2023 and 3.6 percent in 2022 with a similar pace of deceleration expected in 2025. The report further noted that although inflation has decreased globally, it remains high diminishing the value of wages.
Meanwhile, the real wage growth has been limited to some advanced economies as many countries continue recovering from the pandemic's aftermath and inflationary pressures.
The report also pointed to a significant rise in youth unemployment particularly in low-income countries where youth unemployment rates increased by nearly four percentage points above pre-pandemic levels reaching 12.6 percent. The report stated that informal work and working poverty have returned to pre-pandemic levels exacerbating challenges especially in low-income countries. The report also emphasized that youth in low-income countries are the most affected with the number of unemployed young people and those not engaged in any other activity such as education or training reaching concerning levels in 2024. It added that 15.8 million young men (20.4 percent) and 28.2 million young women (37.0 percent) were classified as NEET (Not in Education Employment or Training) representing increases of 500.000 and 700.000 respectively compared to 2023. On a global scale the unemployment rate remained stable at five percent in 2024 but youth unemployment remained a major concern with 85.8 million young men (13.1 percent) and 173.3 million young women (28.2 percent) being NEET up by one million and 1.8 million respectively from the previous year. According to the report, the global jobs gap which represents the estimated number of people seeking work but unable to find employment reached 402 million in 2024. This includes 186 million unemployed, 137 million temporarily unavailable to work and 79 million discouraged workers who have stopped searching for jobs due to difficulty finding employment. The report also identified significant opportunities in renewable energy and digital technologies with renewable energy jobs reaching 16.2 million globally. However, these jobs are unevenly distributed with nearly half located in East Asia. Many countries still lack the necessary skills and infrastructure to fully benefit from these opportunities. Houngbo emphasized the need for immediate action to address these crises and ensure a fairer and more sustainable future. He stressed that decent work and productive employment are essential for achieving social justice and the Sustainable Development Goals. The ILO's report made several recommendations to tackle the current challenges including increasing productivity through investments in skills training education and infrastructure to support economic growth and job creation. It also called for expanding social protection to provide better access to social security and safe working conditions as well as effectively using private funds especially in low-income countries to support local development and enhance decent job opportunities. (end) imk.rk