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One-Third of World’s Workers Are Jobless, Poor |
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One in three workers in the world is either unemployed or earns less than the equivalent of $2 a day.
According to the annual labor market report by the International Labor Organization (ILO), which is part of the United Nations, these workers form a huge “decent work deficit” worldwide.
The ILO defines decent work as work that is productive and delivers a fair income, security in the workplace and social protection for families, as well as allowing people to express their concerns, form and join unions.
The report, which will be released on Labor Day, shows 195.7 million people are unemployed and nearly 1.3 billion earn less than $2 a day per family member. ILO Director General Juan Somavia says:
Hundreds of millions of women and men are working hard and long but without the conditions they need to lift themselves and their families out of poverty or the risk of falling into poverty.
The ILO estimates half of all working people worldwide work in jobs that carry a higher risk of being unprotected, without health care or retirement security and without a voice at work. Over 70 percent of the workers in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia are in such vulnerable employment.
The report, Key Indicators of the Labor Market, notes some one-third of the working-age population worldwide is not participating in labor markets. For the past 10 years, this rate has remained much higher for women than for men, with only two of 10 working age men not in the labor market, compared with five of 10 women.
The ILO report also shows the United States still leads the world by far in labor productivity last year.
But it does not seem that American workers are reaping the benefits of increased productivity. We reported the Economic Mobility Project recently found that between 1947 and 1974, productivity and income grew together, but between 1974 and 2005, productivity and income grew apart.
2 Comments
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The only ones to reap the benefits is the rich and it always has been and always will be. When will people start hitting these greedy people where it hurts
Are we slowly, but surely going back to slave labor, even in the industrialized, supposedly democratic societies? If more and more people are working longer and harder hours without the benefit of even having a living wage, or necessary health and safety protections, then this is an indication of slavery. There is such a disproportionate and almost immoral distribution of wealth in this country and in the world. We must begin to look at global and international politics to protect the well being of all citizens upon this earth. Things can be done, and it does not take a brilliant intellectual to solve the problems we now face. It will take, however, people with compassion and understanding, and the realization that what negatively affects one individual will have a negative affect on us all, in one way or another.