Employment in Asia-Pacific growing but with poor quality: ILO

As the Asia-Pacific continues to create jobs at a very fast rate, unemployment in the region is expected to remain low by international standards, at around 4.2 per cent in 2018, according to a new report by the International Labour Organization (ILO), reports UNB.

The ILO’s ‘World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2018’ projects that the number of employed persons in the region will grow by some 23 million (or 1.2 per cent) between 2017 and 2019.

For instance, in some Asian countries such as China, Vietnam, Bangladesh and the Philippines, the expansion of the services sectors, coupled with the proliferation of global supply chains and reforms that liberalised the labour markets, gave a rise to the spread of temporary work in the region.

The high incidence of informality continues to undermine the prospects of further reducing working poverty, especially in South and South-Eastern Asia. Indeed, informality affects around 90 per cent of all workers in India, Bangladesh, Cambodia and Nepal).

Southern Asia, driven by fast labour force growth, is expected to account for almost 90 per cent of the regional employment growth. Conversely, employment growth in Eastern Asia is expected to be marginal mostly as a result of the shrinking workforce in China.

A large part of the jobs created in the region remain of poor quality: vulnerable employment affects almost half of all workers in Asia-Pacific, or more than 900 million men and women.

Projections indicate that 72 per cent of workers in Southern Asia, 46 per cent in South-Eastern Asia and the Pacific, and 31 per cent in Eastern Asia will be vulnerable employment by 2019, showing very little change from 2017.

“The high and persistent incidence of vulnerable employment in the region largely reflects the fact that structural transformation processes, whereby capital and workers transfer from low to higher value-added sectors, are lagging behind in large parts of the region, with the exception of Eastern Asia,” explains ILO economist Stefan Kühn, lead author of the report.

Eastern Asia, mostly driven by China, has seen the share of agricultural employment first, and that of manufacturing later, decreasing at a fast rate, with workers increasingly relocating to services.

In Southern Asia structural transformation proceeds much more slowly: Agriculture employment still represents 59 per cent of the total employment, manufacturing accounting for only 12 per cent, and services for about 24 per cent.

South Eastern Asia and the Pacific’s economy has increasingly become service-based without having a proper experience of industrialisation.

According to the report, the incidence of working poverty in the Asia-Pacific region is expected to continue its downward trend for the next couple of years. As of 2017, 23.4 per cent of the working population was in extreme or moderate poverty (living on income per capita below US $3.10 per day (PPP)), down from over 44 per cent in 2007.

Despite remarkable progresses, working poverty remains high in some parts of the region, notably in Southern Asia.

Over 41 per cent of workers in this region are estimated to be in either extreme or moderate poverty in 2017, accounting for more than two thirds of all working poor in Asia-Pacific.

The high incidence of informality continues to challenge prospects of further reduction in working poverty, especially in Southern and South-Eastern Asia. Informality affects close to 90 per cent or more of all workers in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Myanmar and Nepal.

Such high incidence of informality only partly reflect high shares of employment in agriculture - a sector where informality is usually higher than in the rest of the economy.

As the global economy recovers but with a growing labour force, global unemployment in 2018 is projected to remain at a similar level to the rate in 2017.

The global unemployment rate has been stabilising after a rise in 2016. It reached an estimated 5.6 per cent in 2017, with the total number of unemployed exceeding 192 million persons.

“Even though global unemployment has stabilised, decent work deficits remain widespread: the global economy is still not creating enough jobs. Additional efforts need to be put in place to improve the quality of work for jobholders and to ensure that the gains of growth are shared equitably,” ILO Director-General Guy Ryder said.

 

Employment in Asia-Pacific growing but with poor quality: ILO

As the Asia-Pacific continues to create jobs at a very fast rate, unemployment in the region is expected to remain low by international standards, at around 4.2 per cent in 2018, according to a new report by the International Labour Organization (ILO), reports UNB. The ILOs World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2018 projects that the number of employed persons in the region will grow by some 23 million (or 1.2 per cent) between 2017 and 2019. For instance, in some Asian countries such as China, Vietnam, Bangladesh and the Philippines, the expansion of the services sectors, coupled with the proliferation of global supply chains and reforms that liberalised the labour markets, gave a rise to the spread of temporary work in the region. The high incidence of informality continues to undermine the prospects of further reducing working poverty, especially in South and South-Eastern Asia. Indeed, informality affects around 90 per cent of all workers in India, Bangladesh, Cambodia and Nepal). Southern Asia, driven by fast labour force growth, is expected to account for almost 90 per cent of the regional employment growth. Conversely, employment growth in Eastern Asia is expected to be marginal mostly as a result of the shrinking workforce in China. A large part of the jobs created in the region remain of poor quality: vulnerable employment affects almost half of all workers in Asia-Pacific, or more than 900 million men and women. Projections indicate that 72 per cent of workers in Southern Asia, 46 per cent in South-Eastern Asia and the Pacific, and 31 per cent in Eastern Asia will be vulnerable employment by 2019, showing very little change from 2017. The high and persistent incidence of vulnerable employment in the region largely reflects the fact that structural transformation processes, whereby capital and workers transfer from low to higher value-added sectors, are lagging behind in large parts of the region, with the exception of Eastern Asia, explains ILO economist Stefan Kuuml;hn, lead author of the report. Eastern Asia, mostly driven by China, has seen the share of agricultural employment first, and that of manufacturing later, decreasing at a fast rate, with workers increasingly relocating to services. In Southern Asia structural transformation proceeds much more slowly: Agriculture employment still represents 59 per cent of the total employment, manufacturing accounting for only 12 per cent, and services for about 24 per cent. South Eastern Asia and the Pacifics economy has increasingly become service-based without having a proper experience of industrialisation. According to the report, the incidence of working poverty in the Asia-Pacific region is expected to continue its downward trend for the next couple of years. As of 2017, 23.4 per cent of the working population was in extreme or moderate poverty (living on income per capita below US $3.10 per day (PPP)), down from over 44 per cent in 2007. Despite remarkable progresses, working poverty remains high in some parts of the region, notably in Southern Asia. Over 41 per cent of workers in this region are estimated to be in either extreme or moderate poverty in 2017, accounting for more than two thirds of all working poor in Asia-Pacific. The high incidence of informality continues to challenge prospects of further reduction in working poverty, especially in Southern and South-Eastern Asia. Informality affects close to 90 per cent or more of all workers in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Myanmar and Nepal. Such high incidence of informality only partly reflect high shares of employment in agriculture - a sector where informality is usually higher than in the rest of the economy. As the global economy recovers but with a growing labour force, global unemployment in 2018 is projected to remain at a similar level to the rate in 2017. The global unemployment rate has been stabilising after a rise in 2016. It reached an estimated 5.6 per cent in 2017, with the total number of unemployed exceeding 192 million persons. Even though global unemployment has stabilised, decent work deficits remain widespread: the global economy is still not creating enough jobs. Additional efforts need to be put in place to improve the quality of work for jobholders and to ensure that the gains of growth are shared equitably, ILO Director-General Guy Ryder said.