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STORY: ILO / WORLD EMPLOYMENT SOCIAL OUTLOOK
TRT: 03:50
SOURCE: ILO
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: HINDI / ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 13 JANUARY 2025, VARIOUS LOCATIONS
13 JANUARY 2025, DELHI, INDIA
1. SOUNDBITE (Hindi) Madhu Jaiswal, unemployed youth:
00:00-00:05 “There are no jobs. I’m looking for one, but I haven’t found anything yet.” 00:05 – 00:10 “I’ve only studied up to Year 12. They say those who’ve studied more are the ones who get jobs.” 00:10 – 00:24 “I don’t like sitting at home idle and being a burden to my mother. I’m already of working age, and I could help my family if I had a job.” 00:24 – 00:43 “I’ve asked many people to help me find work. They’ve tried to get me jobs in big offices, but I wouldn’t be able to work in such places. They ask for documented proof of what I’ve done since leaving school. I don’t have that, so I’m not getting a job.” 00:43 – 00:49 “Everyone dreams of a job in a big office, but they’re not getting it.” 00:49 – 00:57 “Now I’m grown up, and my mother is getting older. I left school after Year 12 to support her.” 00:57 – 01:02 “I plan to learn sewing and find work in that field.”
2. Various shots, Madhu Jaiswal helps at her mother’s food stall
Madhu Jaiswal Madhu Jaiswal, 20-year-old woman who completed her education up to Year 12 but left school to support her widowed mother and four siblings. She is currently neither studying, training, nor employed. Lives in Delhi.
3. Various shots, Madhu Jaiswal walks with her mother and alone
4. SOUNDBITE (Hindi) Saurabh, unemployed youth:
01:24 – 02:01 “One doesn’t get respect if you don’t have a job. Society values and respects people who are employed. Everyone calls me unemployed. They ask me, ‘Why don’t you get a job?’ I tell them, ‘I’m trying. I give interviews everywhere, but I’m not getting any responses.’ I feel like there’s something wrong with me, or maybe there’s a flaw I can’t seem to overcome.” “I’m ready to take any job, whether in India or abroad. But I need to be given one, right?” 02:09 – 02:35 “I’m currently in my second year of college. I first went to a private college, but I had to drop out when I faced difficulties. Then I joined IGNOU University, where I’m now in my second year.”
5. Various shot, Saurabh walks outside along city street
Saurabh is a 25-year-old man, currently unemployed and pursuing a graduate degree through an open university. Lives in Delhi.
6. Various shots, Saurabh at home, he folds clothes
7. Various shots, Saurabh speaks with a friend of a similar age
13 JANUARY 2025, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Ekkehard Ernst, Chief of the Macroeconomic policies and jobs unit, Research Department, ILO:
03:06 – 03:26 “The good news is that the global unemployment rate is holding steady at 5 percent. But behind this number, there is long-term stagnation, especially for developing countries. Growth is uneven. The looming threat of trade barriers will only make it harder for them to export. They will become less integrated into global markets, and less likely to grow.” 03:26 – 03:51 “Young people have always faced a higher risk of unemployment than adults. But what is even more worrying now is that many more young people are not working or studying than there were in 2023. And they lack the incentive to work or learn. This makes it very hard for them to find their way back into the labour market and into stable and productive employment. This trend is particularly clear in developing countries.”
The global economy is slowing down, making it harder for labour markets to recover fully, according to the newly released, World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2025 report.
In 2024, global employment grew in line with the labour force, keeping the unemployment rate steady at 5 per cent, the report says. However, youth unemployment showed little improvement, remaining high at 12.6 per cent. Informal work and working poverty returned to pre-pandemic levels, and low-income countries faced the most difficulties in creating decent jobs.
The report points to challenges such as geopolitical tensions, the rising costs of climate change and unresolved debt issues, which are putting labour markets under pressure. Economic growth stood at 3.2 per cent in 2024, down from 3.3 and 3.6 per cent in 2023 and 2022, respectively. A similar level of growth is expected in 2025, although a gradual deceleration is expected to set in over the medium term.
Although inflation has decreased, it remains high, reducing the value of wages, the report finds. Real wages have only increased in some advanced economies, and most countries are still recovering from the effects of the pandemic and inflation.
Labour force participation rates have dropped in low-income countries while increasing in high-income nations, mainly among older workers and women, the report finds. However, gender gaps remain wide, with fewer women in the workforce, limiting progress in living standards. Among young men participation has fallen sharply, with many not in education, employment or training (NEET). This trend is especially pronounced in low-income countries, where NEET rates for young men have risen by nearly 4 percentage points above the pre-pandemic historical average, leaving them vulnerable to economic challenges.
NEET rates in low-income countries rose in 2024, with young men reaching 15.8 million (20.4 per cent) and young women 28.2 million (37.0 per cent), marking increases of 500,000 and 700,000 respectively from 2023. Globally, 85.8 million young men (13.1 per cent) and 173.3 million young women (28.2 per cent) were NEET in 2024, up by 1 million and 1.8 million respectively from the previous year.
The global jobs gap - the estimated number of people who want to work but do not have a job - reached 402 million in 2024. This includes 186 million unemployed people, 137 million who are temporarily unavailable to work, and 79 million discouraged workers who have stopped looking for jobs. While the gap has been gradually narrowing since the pandemic it is expected to stabilize over the next two years.
The study identifies potential for job growth in green energy and digital technologies. Renewable energy jobs have grown to 16.2 million worldwide, driven by investment in solar and hydrogen power. However, these jobs are unevenly distributed, with nearly half based in East Asia.
Digital technologies also offer opportunities, but many countries lack the infrastructure and skills to fully benefit from these advancements, the report notes.
The ILO Director-General, Gilbert F. Houngbo, stressed the urgent need for action. “Decent work and productive employment are essential for achieving social justice and the Sustainable Development Goals. To avoid exacerbating already strained social cohesion, escalating climate impacts, and surging debt, we must act now to tackle labour market challenges and create a fairer, more sustainable future,” he said.
The report makes some recommendations to address current challenges:
• Boost productivity: invest in skills training, education and infrastructure to support economic growth and job creation
• Expand social protection: provide better access to social security and safe working conditions to reduce inequality
• Use private funds effectively: low-income countries can harness remittances and diaspora funds to support local development
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