World of Work Report 2013: Repairing the economic and social fabric

Main Findings

• Five years after the global financial crisis, the global employment situation remains uneven, with emerging and developing economies recovering much faster than the majority of advanced economies. Employment rates (the proportion of people of working age who have a job) exceed pre-crisis levels in 30 per cent of the countries analysed. In 37 per cent of the countries, employment rates have increased in recent years, but not enough to return to the pre-crisis situation, while in the remaining 33 per cent of countries, employment rates have continued to decline. Based on current trends, employment rates across emerging and developing economies will return to pre-crisis levels in 2015; while employment rates in advanced economies will only return to the precrisis situation a' er 2017.
• At the global level, the number of unemployed people will continue to increase unless policies change course. Global unemployment is expected to approach 208 million in 2015, compared with slightly over 200 million at the time of publication.
• Key labour market weaknesses that preceded the crisis have remained acute or worsened, even in high-growth economies. For example, over the past 5 years, the incidence of long-term unemployment (the share of unemployed persons out of work for 12 months or more) has increased in 60 per cent of the advanced and developing economies for which data exist.
• In addition, many workers have become discouraged and are no longer actively looking for a job. Labour force participation rates decreased between 2007 and 2012 in more than half of the countries analysed.

Content

1. Overview of employment trends and projections
2. Income distribution and middle-income groups across the world Main Findings Introduction A. Trends in income and wage inequalities
3. Role of minimum wages in rebalancing the economy
4. Investment for a job-friendly recovery
5. How to shift to a more equitable and job-friendly economic path