Global unemployment set to worsen in 2024, 2 million more to be jobless: UN

The United Nations said on Wednesday that the worldwide unemployment rate is projected to experience a slight increase in 2024, with an extra two million workers expected to be looking for jobs. The organisation expressed concerns about stagnant productivity, worsening inequalities, and the impact of inflation on disposable income. The UN’s labor agency noted a slowdown in the economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, attributing it to ongoing geopolitical tensions and central banks taking aggressive measures in response to persistent inflation. Despite this, the International Labour Organization (ILO) highlighted that global growth in 2023 exceeded modest expectations, and labor markets exhibited surprising resilience. Nevertheless, the ILO pointed out that real wages decreased in most G20 countries, as wage hikes failed to keep up with inflation. In 2022, the global unemployment rate was 5.3 per cent, showing a slight improvement to 5.1 per cent last year. Looking ahead to 2024, an additional two million individuals are anticipated to join the job-seeking pool, causing the global unemployment rate to rise to 5.2 per cent. Disposable incomes have declined in the majority of G20 nations and, generally, the erosion of living standards resulting from inflation is “unlikely to be compensated quickly”, the ILO said. Widening inequalities and stagnant productivity are causes for concern, the ILO said in its World Employment and Social Outlook Trends report for 2024. The study assesses the latest labour market trends, including unemployment, job creation, labour force participation and hours worked - then links those to their social outcomes. The report found that some of the data, notably on growth and unemployment, are “encouraging”, ILO chief Gilbert Houngbo said. But a “deeper analysis reveals that labour market imbalances are growing and that, in the context of multiple and interacting global crises, this is eroding progress towards greater social justice”, Houngbo added. The report found that only China, Russia and Mexico “enjoyed positive real wage growth in 2023”. Real wages fell in other G20 countries, with Brazil (6.9 percent), Italy (five percent) and Indonesia (3.5 percent) experiencing the sharpest declines. “Falling living standards and weak productivity combined with persistent inflation create the conditions for greater inequality and undermine efforts to achieve social justice,” said Houngbo. “And without greater social justice we will never have a sustainable recovery.” With inputs from agencies