UNB :
Multiple global crises are causing a marked deterioration in the global labour market recovery, said a new report from the International Labour Organization (ILO).
The 9th edition of the ILO Monitor on the World of Work published Monday (23 May), found that after significant gains during the last quarter of 2021, the number of hours worked globally dropped in the first quarter of 2022, to 3.8% below the pre-crisis benchmark (fourth quarter of 2019).
This is equivalent to a deficit of 112 million full-time jobs with increasing inequalities within and between countries, reads a press release.
The decline represents a significant downgrading of figures published by the ILO in January 2022.
Multiple new and interconnected global crises, including inflation (especially in energy and food prices), financial turbulence, potential debt distress, and global supply chain disruption – exacerbated by war in Ukraine – means there is a growing risk of a further deterioration in hours worked in 2022, as well as a broader impact on global labour markets in the months to come.
The report also finds that a great and growing divergence between richer and poorer economies continues to characterise the recovery.
Driven by disruptions in production and trade exacerbated by the Ukraine crisis, the increase in food and commodity prices is badly hurting poor households and small businesses, especially those in the informal economy.
