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1 Global employment and social trends
Author(s) -
Kühn Stefan
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
world employment and social outlook
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2059-3031
DOI - 10.1002/wow3.158
Subject(s) - underemployment , unemployment , poverty , labour economics , inequality , social inequality , economics , work (physics) , development economics , economic growth , mechanical engineering , mathematical analysis , mathematics , engineering
This chapter presents the state of the world's labour markets, presenting three main findings. First, labour underutilization remains a major challenge, with almost half a billion people having no or insufficient access to paid employment. In addition unemployment, this includes also those in time‐related underemployment, and those in the potential labour force. After years of decline, the rate of labour underutilization is now projected to remain stable. Second, having a job does not guarantee a decent life. Many people are have no choice but to take up jobs that do not offer decent working conditions, as evidenced by the high share of own‐account and contributing family work, informality, or working poverty. Third, persistent and high labour market inequalities can be observed not only with regards to gender or age, but also with regards to geographic location. These profound challenges can undermine social cohesion between and within societies.