Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic unleashed the worst economic crisis in decades, with a severely damaging impact on working time and income. Although the global economy started to rebound in 2021, waves of spreading COVID-19 infections together with rising inflation, major supply chain disruptions, policy uncertainties and unsustainable debt of developing countries caused the global economy to slow down at the end of 2021. The conflict in Ukraine is expected to seriously set back global economic growth in 2022.

Following an increase of about 1.4 per cent in 2019, global real GDP per capita decreased sharply by 4.4 per cent in 2020. Global real GDP per capita is estimated to have rebounded at a growth rate of 4.4 per cent in 2021 and is projected to increase again by 3.0 per cent in 2022 and 2.5 per cent in 2023 based on pre-war estimations. The war in Ukraine is likely to downgrade global growth. The real GDP of least developed countries had increased by 5.0 per cent in 2019 but showed no growth in 2020 because of the disruption caused by the pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in unprecedented, volatile developments in labour productivity levels. Globally, output per worker grew at an average annual rate of 1.6 per cent between 2015 and 2019. In 2020, the output per worker dropped by 0.6 per cent, the first such decline since 2009. Global labour productivity rebounded sharply in 2021, rising by 3.2 per cent. 86. Prior to the onset of the pandemic, informal employment represented 60.2 per cent of global employment in 2019. COVID-19 pandemic containment measures and mobility restrictions prevented labour reallocation to informal employment. Rather than become unemployed or shift to informal jobs, as in previous crises, laid -off employees and self-employed workers alike left the labour force. A disproportionate impact on informal workers was reflected in a decline in the informal employment rate in some countries at the height of the crisis, which has left informal workers and their families in a highly precarious position, exposed to sudden income losses and heightened risks of falling into poverty.

Equal treatment in employment is part and parcel of decent work. Globally women continue to be paid 19 per cent less than men according to an International Labour Organization (ILO) 2018/2019 study. In 87 per cent of countries with recent data, professionals earn per hour on average more than double what workers in elementary occupations earn.

In 2021, the global unemployment rate declined slightly to 6.2 per cent, which is still well above the pre-pandemic rate of 5.4 per cent. ILO projects that unemployment will remain above its 2019 level until at least 2023. Meanwhile, the level of unemployment underestimates the full employment impact of the crisis since many who left the labour force have not come back nor does it reflect the reduction in working hours for those who remained employed. In 2021, 4.3 per cent of global working hours were lost compared with the fourth quarter of 2019, which is equivalent to a deficit of 125 million full-time jobs (assuming a 48‑hour working week).

The proportion of the world’s youth not in education, employment or training (NEET) is now at its highest level since 2005. The NEET rate had remained unchanged from 2015 to 2019 at 21.8 per cent but increased to 23.3 per cent in 2020, representing an addition of almost 20 million youth. Although youth represented only 13 per cent of total employment before the crisis, they made up 34.2 per cent of the 2020 decline in employment. Meanwhile, both technical and vocational education and on-the-job training suffered massive disruption, forcing many young people to quit their studies.

Latest estimates indicate that the number of children in child labour rose to 160 million (63 million girls and 97 million boys) worldwide at the beginning of 2020, representing an increase of 8.4 million children in the last four years and translating into almost 1 in 10 of all children in child labour worldwide.

Global GDP from tourism nearly halved between 2019 and 2020 and the sector faced its worst crisis in recent history, with businesses, employment and livelihoods around the world severely impacted. After a marked positive trend over the past decade and reaching $3.4 trillion in 2019 or 4 per cent of global GDP, the economic contribution of tourism plummeted to $1.8 trillion or 2.3 per cent of world GDP in 2020.

Access to finance has continued to rise worldwide since 2015, with new modes of access playing an increasingly important role in more recent years. Globally, the number of ATMs per 100,000 adults grew from 65.3 in 2015 to 67.3 in 2020. By contrast, the number of commercial bank branches per 100,000 decreased slightly from 15.2 in 2015 to 14.4 in 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic seems to have further reinforced the use of digital modes of financial access, whereas both indicators declined globally and in most regions from 2019 to 2020.

The development and implementation of national youth employment strategies are increasing across most regions. Out of 81 countries reporting in 2021, more than half have operationalized such strategies, while slightly less than one third have developed one but did not provide conclusive evidence on implementation

Source: Progress Towards Sustainable Development Goals- Report of the Secretary General 

For more information, please, check: https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2022/

Before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the average growth of the global economy had already slowed. The pandemic has caused the worst global economic recession since the Great Depression and has had a massive impact on working times and incomes. In 2020, 8.8 per cent of global working hours were lost compared to the figure for the fourth quarter of 2019, which is equivalent to 255 million full-time jobs and approximately four times greater than the hours lost during the global financial crisis in 2009. Young people and women in the workforce were hit particularly hard by the crisis in the labour market. The global economy is slowly recovering, although activity may remain below pre-pandemic levels for a prolonged period.

Following average growth of about 2 per cent from 2014 to 2018, global real GDP per capita increased by only 1.3 per cent in 2019 and is estimated to have declined by 5.3 per cent in 2020 owing to the pandemic. Global real GDP per capita is projected to increase again by 3.6 per cent in 2021 and 2.6 per cent in 2022.

The real GDP of the least developed countries increased by 4.8 per cent in 2019 and is estimated to have fallen by 1.3 per cent in 2020 because of the disruption caused by the pandemic.

Before the onset of the pandemic, informal employment accounted for 60.2 per cent of global employment, equivalent to 2 billion people with informal jobs characterized by a lack of basic protection, including social protection coverage. More than three quarters, 1.6 billion informal workers, were significantly affected by the pandemic-related lockdown measures or were working in the sectors hardest hit.

They are at high risk of falling into poverty and will experience greater challenges in regaining their livelihoods during the recovery.

The median gender pay gap in countries and territories with data from around 2017 is close to 12 per cent, indicating that women’s hourly earnings are an average of 12 per cent lower than those of men in half of all countries and territories with data. However, this gender pay gap is an approximate calculation based on average hourly earnings without controlling for sector, occupation, educational level or work experience. In a global study, the International Labour Organization identified a factor-weighted gender pay gap of 19 per cent. In 87 per cent of countries and territories with recent data, professionals earn more than double that of workers in elementary occupations per hour on average.

Global unemployment increased by 33 million in 2020, with the unemployment rate increasing by 1.1 percentage points to 6.5 per cent. However, unemployment figures reflect only a small proportion of the jobs lost as a result of the pandemic. A further 81 million people were not actively seeking employment or were simply unable to find employment owing to the COVID-19-related restrictions. Young people and women were particularly hard hit by the crisis, with employment losses in 2020 of 8.7 and 5 per cent, respectively, compared to 3.7 per cent for all adults and 3.9 per cent for men.

In 2019, more than one in five of the world’s young people were not in employment, education or training, a proportion almost unchanged since 2005. Quarterly figures indicate that the rate increased from the fourth quarter of 2019 to the second quarter of 2020 in 42 out of 49 countries and territories with data. As young women were already twice as likely as young men not to be in employment, education or training, and as women have been forced into inactivity disproportionately during the pandemic, the COVID-19 crisis is likely to worsen the gender gap among young people not in employment, education or training.

The level of national compliance with the fundamental labour rights of freedom of association and collective bargaining changed little between 2015 and 2018.

Global GDP from tourism increased at a higher rate than the rest of the economy over the decade preceding 2019 to account for 4.1 per cent of global GDP in 2019, compared to 3.7 per cent in 2008. However, as one of the sectors hardest hit by the pandemic, a reversal in this trend is expected for 2020 and the coming years. Globally, international arrivals decreased by 74 per cent in 2020 compared to 2019, which represents a loss of $1.3 trillion in inbound tourism expenditure, more than 11 times the loss resulting from the 2009 global crisis. An estimated 100 to 120 million tourism jobs are at risk because of the pandemic, with a disproportionate effect on women. While the tourism sectors of virtually all countries and territories in the world are affected, the small island developing States suffer most acutely.

Globally, the number of automated teller machines per 100,000 adults rose by more than 50 per cent during the past decade, from 45 in 2010 to 69 in 2019. However, there was a slight reversal in the trend for commercial bank branches, with the number of branches in 2019 marginally lower than that recorded in 2010.

In 2019, aid for trade commitments decreased by 6 per cent to $53 billion on the basis of current prices. The sectors most represented were energy (27.9 per cent of total aid for trade), transport and storage (22.6 per cent) and agriculture (17.8 per cent).

In 2020, almost one third of the 107 countries and territories with data had formulated and operationalized a youth employment strategy, while 44 (41.1 per cent) had such strategies but did not provide conclusive evidence of their implementation, and just under one quarter (24.3 per cent) were in the process of developing a strategy.

Source: Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals – E/2021/58

Even before the current crisis, the global economy was growing at a slower rate than in previous years notwithstanding improvements in labour productivity and unemployment. The pandemic has abruptly and profoundly disrupted it, pushing the world into a recession. The unprecedented shock to the world’s labour markets is expected to result in a decrease of around 10.5 per cent in aggregate working hours in the second quarter of 2020, equivalent to 305 million full-time workers. Small and medium enterprises, workers in informal employment, the self-employed, daily wage earners and workers in sectors at the highest risk of disruption have been hit the hardest.

In 2018, the rate of growth of global real GDP per capita was 2 per cent. In addition, the rate for least developed countries was 4.5 per cent in 2018, less than the 7 per cent growth rate targeted in the 2030 Agenda. The pandemic is pushing the world into the worst global economic crisis since the Great Depression.

After a brief interruption during the global economic downturn of 2008–2009, labour productivity has continued to grow; in 2019, it increased by 1.4 per cent from the previous year.

Globally, 61 per cent of workers were in informal employment in 2016. The need to rely on informal employment was more prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa and Central and Southern Asia, where 89 per cent and 86 per cent of workers, respectively, were in such employment. Owing to the unemployment and underemployment caused by the current crisis, some 1.6 billion workers in the informal economy, half of the global workforce, are affected significantly. Globally, the income of informal workers is estimated to fall by 60 per cent in the first months of the crisis.

Data on average hourly earnings cast light on income inequality. In a global study conducted by the International Labour Organization, a factor-weighted gender pay gap of 19 per cent in 2017 was revealed.

In 2019, the global unemployment rate stood at 5 per cent, with the highest rate, 11 per cent, in Northern Africa and Western Asia. The rate was considerably higher among young workers than for adults in all regions in 2019, with the difference reaching 18 percentage points in Northern Africa and Western Asia, 15 percentage points in Central and Southern Asia and 12 percentage points in Latin America and the Caribbean.

In 2019, 22 per cent of the world’s young people were not in employment, education or training, a figure that has hardly changed since 2005.

In 2018, aid for trade commitments remained stable, at $58 billion, based on current prices. South and Central Asia received the highest share thereof (31.4 per cent), followed by sub-Saharan Africa (29.2 per cent). Lower-middle-income countries received 37.5 per cent of aid for trade, followed by least developed countries (36.8 per cent).

According to data for 2019 from 102 countries, 98 per cent had a youth employment strategy or a plan to develop one in the near future.

Source: Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals, Report of the Secretary-General, https://undocs.org/en/E/2020/57

Inclusive and sustainable economic growth can drive progress and generate the means to implement the Sustainable Development Goals. Globally, labour productivity has increased and unemployment is back to pre-financial crisis levels. However, the global economy is growing at a slower rate. More progress is needed to increase employment opportunities, particularly for young people, reduce informal employment and the gender pay gap and promote safe and secure working environments to create decent work for all.

• In 2017, the global growth rate of real GDP per capita was 1.9 per cent and is expected to remain at about 2 per cent from 2018 to 2020. This is significantly less than the 3 per cent rate attained in 2010 and slightly higher than the 2015 rate of 1.63 per cent. Real GDP growth rate for least developed countries is expected to increase from 4.5 per cent in 2017 to 5.7 per cent in 2020, which is less than the 7 per cent envisioned by the 2030 Agenda.
• Since the global economic downturn of 2009, labour productivity (measured as GDP per employed person) has been increasing in the world, recording positive annual growth rates consistently since 2010. In 2018, the world’s labour productivity increased by 2.1 per cent, its highest annual growth since 2010.
• Informal employment, which has an impact on the adequacy of earnings, occupational safety and health and working conditions, remains pervasive: in three quarters of countries with data on the subject, more than half of all persons employed in non-agriculture sectors are in informal employment.
• Based on data for 62 countries, the median hourly gender pay gap stood at 12 per cent. The median gender pay gap exceeded 20 per cent in managerial and professional occupations, among workers in crafts and related trades and among plant machine operators and assemblers.
• The global unemployment rate has finally recovered from the global economic crisis. In 2018, the global unemployment rate stood at 5.0 per cent – matching pre-crisis levels. Youth were three times more likely to be unemployed than adults.
• In 2018, one fifth of the world’s youth were not in education, employment or training, meaning that they were neither gaining professional experience nor acquiring or developing skills through educational or vocational programmes in their prime years. There is a stark gender difference. Young women were more than twice as likely as young men to be unemployed or outside the labour force and not in education or training.
• Many workers around the world are exposed to undue risks in their workplaces. Based on recent data from some 55 countries, a median of 3 deaths occurred per 100,000 employees and a median of 889 non-fatal injuries occurred per 100,000 employees.
• Access to finance is on the rise globally, but the mode of access seems to be changing with growing reliance on technology. From 2010 to 2017, the number of automated teller machines (ATMs) per 100,000 adults grew by close to 50 per cent from 45 to 66 globally, and from 2.3 to 5.8 in the least developed countries. The number of commercial bank branches per 100,000 adults grew by only 2 per cent between 2010 and 2017, with more customers using digital banking solutions.
• In 2017, aid-for-trade commitments increased to $58 billion and more than doubled when compared to the 2002–2005 baseline, when they represented $23.1 billion. In absolute terms, the increase was highest in the agriculture sector ($1.7 billion), the industry sector ($1.0 billion) and in banking and financial services ($1.0 billion).

Source: Report of the Secretary-General, Special edition: progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals

Globally, labour productivity has increased and the unemployment rate has decreased. However, more progress is needed to increase employment opportunities, especially for young people, reduce informal employment and labour market inequality (particularly in terms of the gender pay gap), promote safe and secure working environments, and improve access to financial services to ensure sustained and inclusive economic growth.

• In 2016, real gross domestic product (GDP) per capita grew at 1.3 per cent globally, less than the 1.7 per cent average growth rate recorded in 2010–2016. For LDCs, the rate fell sharply from 5.7 per cent in 2005–2009 to 2.3 per cent in 2010–2016.
• Labour productivity at the global level, measured as output produced per employed person in constant 2005 US dollars, grew by 2.1 per cent in 2017. This is the fastest growth registered since 2010.
• Globally, 61 per cent of all workers were engaged in informal employment in 2016. Excluding the agricultural sector, 51 per cent of all workers fell into this employment category.
• Data from 45 countries suggest that gender inequality in earnings is still pervasive: in 89 per cent of these countries, the hourly wages of men are, on average, higher than those of women, with a median pay gap of 12.5 per cent.
• The global unemployment rate in 2017 was 5.6 per cent, down from 6.4 per cent in 2000. The decline has slowed since 2009, when it hit 5.9 per cent. Youth are three times more likely to be unemployed than adults, with the global youth unemployment rate at 13 per cent in 2017.
• In high-income countries, almost every adult has an account at a bank or other financial institution, compared to only 35 per cent of adults in low-income countries. Across all regions, women lag behind men in this regard.

Source: Report of the Secretary-General, The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2018

Increasing labour productivity, reducing the unemployment rate, especially for young people, and improving access to financial services and benefits are essential components of sustained and inclusive economic growth.

• The average annual growth rate of real GDP per capita worldwide was 1.6 per cent from 2010 to 2015, compared to 0.9 per cent in 2005-2009. In the least developed countries, the per capita growth rate accelerated from 3.5 per cent in 2000-2004 to 4.6 per cent in 2005-2009, before slowing to 2.5 per cent in 2010-2015. Overall average annual GDP growth in the least developed countries followed a similar trend, decelerating from 7.1 per cent in 2005 -2009 to 4.9 per cent in 2010-2015, below the Sustainable Development Goals target of 7 per cent.
• Labour productivity (annual growth rate of real GDP per worker) globally has slowed from an average annual rate of 2.9 per cent from 2000 to 2008 to 1.9 per cent from 2009 to 2016. The slowdown represents a negative development for the global economy, with adverse effects on living standards and real wages.
• The global unemployment rate stood at 5.7 per cent in 2016, with women more likely to be unemployed than men across all age groups. Youth were almost three times as likely as adults to be unemployed, with unemployment rates of 12.8 per cent and 4.4 per cent, respectively, in 2016. Moreover, in more than 76 per cent of countries with data, more than 1 in 10 youth are neither in the educational system nor working. Young women are more likely than young men to fall into that category in almost 70 per cent of countries with data.
• While the number of children from 5 to 17 years of age who are working has declined from 246 million in 2000 to 168 million in 2012, child labour remains a serious concern. More than half of child labourers (85 million children) participate in hazardous work and 59 per cent of them work in the agricultural sector. Girls have made greater progress than boys, with the number of girls engaged in child labour declining by 40 per cent during the period 2000-2012, compared to a decline of 25 per cent for boys.
• Access to financial services enables individuals and firms to manage changes in income, deal with fluctuating cash flows, accumulate assets and make productive investments. Access to financial services through automated teller machines increased by 55 per cent worldwide from 2010 to 2015. Commercial bank branches grew by 5 per cent during the same period, with the lower growth explained by increased digital access to financial services. Globally, there were 60 automated teller machines and 17 commercial bank branches per 100,000 adults in 2015. From 2011 to 2014, 700 million adults became new account holders and the share of adults with an account at a financial institution increased from 51 per cent to 61 per cent.
• After contracting slightly in 2014, aid for trade rose 5.4 per cent in real terms to reach $53.9 billion in 2015 owing to a recovery in commitments for trade-related infrastructure and further growth in support of banking and agriculture. Aid for trade commitments to the least developed countries increased in 2015 by $4.3 billion, reaching $17.2 billion. The Enhanced Integrated Framework, an aid-for-trade programme dedicated to those countries, started its second phase in 2016 and will run to 2022. Donor commitments to the Framework stood at $55.3 million in 2016, with $17.3 million already disbursed to the Trust Fund.

Source: Report of the Secretary-General, "Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals", E/2017/66

• Sustained and inclusive economic growth is necessary for achieving sustainable development. The global annual growth rate of real GDP per capita increased by 1.3 per cent in 2014, a significant slowdown compared to 2010 (2.8 per cent growth) and 2000 (3.0 per cent growth). Developing regions grew far faster than developed regions, with average annual growth rates in 2014 of 3.1 per cent and 1.4 per cent, respectively.
• Labour productivity (measured by GDP per worker) spurs economic growth. Growth in labour productivity in developing regions far outpaced that of developed regions, especially in Asia. Between 2010 and 2015, labour productivity grew by 0.9 per cent per year, on average, in developed regions, while rising by 6.7 per cent per year, on average, in Eastern Asia, the region with the fastest growth. Despite rapid growth in some developing regions, labour productivity remains far higher in the developed regions. In 2015, the average worker in developed regions produced 23 times the annual output of an average worker in sub-Saharan Africa (which has the lowest labour productivity in developing regions), and 2.5 times that of an average worker in Western Asia (which has the highest labour productivity in developing regions).
• The global unemployment rate stood at 6.1 per cent in 2015, down from a peak of 6.6 per cent in 2009, mostly owing to a decline in unemployment in the developed regions. Unemployment affects population groups differently. Globally, women and youth (aged 15 to 24) are more likely to face unemployment than men and adults aged 25 and over. In all regions, except Eastern Asia and the developed regions, the unemployment rate among women is higher than that of men. In almost all regions, the rate of youth unemployment is more than twice that of adults.
• Although the number of children engaged in child labour declined globally by one third from 2000 to 2012 (from 246 million to 168 million), more than half of child labourers in 2012 (85 million) were engaged in hazardous forms of work. The incidence of child labour was highest in sub-Saharan Africa, where 21 per cent of children were employed as child labourers. Of all child labourers worldwide, 59 per cent were engaged in agricultural activities in 2012.
• While economic growth and employment are important for economic security, access to financial services is an essential component of inclusive growth. Between 2011 and 2014, the proportion of the world’s adult population with an account at a financial institution or a mobile money service provider increased from 51 per cent to 62 per cent, meaning that 700 million adults became account holders during this period. Financial exclusion disproportionately affected women and the poor. The proportion of women who are account holders is 9 percentage points lower than the proportion of men who are account holders. Moreover, the proportion of account holders among the poorest 40 per cent of households is 14 percentage points lower than among those living in the richest 60 per cent of households.
• In 2014, aid for trade assistance was $54.8 billion, an increase of almost 120 per cent over the period from 2002 to 2005. However, total commitments fell slightly (by $1 billion) in 2014 compared to 2013, driven mainly by a $4.7 billion drop in support for transport and storage. A total of 146 developing countries received aid for trade assistance in 2014, with lower-middle-income countries receiving 39.4 per cent of the total, the least developed countries receiving 26.3 per cent and upper-middle-income countries receiving 19 per cent. On a per capita basis, however, the least developed countries received $10 per capita, more than any other income group and more than twice the global average.

Source: Report of the Secretary-General, "Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals", E/2016/75