ILO Flagship Report
X World
Employment
and Social Outlook
Trends
2023X World Employment
and Social Outlook
Trends 2023
International Labour Officeo GenevaCopyright (c) International Labour Organization 2023
First published 2023
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ISBN 9789220372913 (print); ISBN 9789220372920 (web PDF)
ISSN 2709-7080 (print); 2709-7099 (online)
DOI: doi/10.54394/SNCP1637
labour market / unemployment / employment creation / inflation / COVID-19 / report
13.01.2
ILO Cataloguing in Publication Data
DOI: doi/10.54394/SNCP1637
Also available in French: Emploi et questions sociales dans le monde: Tendances 2023, ISBN 9789220372937
(print), 9789220372944 (web PDF); and in Spanish: Perspectivas Sociales y del Empleo en el Mundo: Tendencias
2023, ISBN 9789220372951 (print), 9789220372968 (web PDF).
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Preface
This year’s World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends provides
a comprehensive assessment of current decent work deficits and
how these have been exacerbated by multiple, overlapping crises
in recent years. It analyses global patterns, regional differences and
outcomes across groups of workers. The report provides labour
market projections for 2023 and 2024 and presents trends in labour
productivity growth, analysing the factors contributing to its decline.
By the end of 2022, the recovery from the COVID-19 crisis was still
incomplete and highly uneven across the world, particularly in low-
income and middle-income countries, and was further hampered
by the consequences of the conflict in Ukraine, accelerating climate
change and unprecedented humanitarian challenges. Projections of
a slowdown in economic and employment growth in 2023 imply that
most countries will fall short of a full recovery to pre-pandemic levels
in the foreseeable future. Worse still, progress in labour markets is
likely to be far too slow to reduce the enormous decent work deficits
that existed prior to, and were exacerbated by, the pandemic. Lack
of access to employment, poor job quality, insufficient pay and major
inequalities are only some of the challenges that undermine social
justice. The globally observed slowdown in productivity growth
is likely to make those challenges even more difficult to address.
In times of crisis, international solidarity is more critical than ever.
A new global social contract is needed to narrow the existing deficits
in decent work and social justice. To this end, in 2023 the ILO will
launch a Global Coalition for Social Justice aimed at strengthening
global solidarity and improving policy coherence, in order to bring
about action and investment for decent work and social justice.
More than ever, the convergence of crises and the associated uncer-
tainties are fuelling the sources of inequalities and undermining the
already endangered social contract. Beyond the individual human
tragedies they have caused, and their impact on the world of work,
these crises have highlighted the interlinkages and dependencies
of economies and societies around the world and have shown the
crucial need for concerted, coordinated action at all levels. We need
both awareness of the necessity to act and new ways of translating
this awareness into resolute action without further delay.
Gilbert F. Houngbo
ILO Director-General