The economic slowdown will lead more workers to accept low-quality, low-paid jobs, according to a report by the ILO, which estimates that global employment will increase by 1% in 2023, less than half of what it was in 2022.

The "World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2023" report by the International Labor Organization (ILO) released today concludes that "the current global economic slowdown is likely to force more workers to accept low-quality, low-paid jobs that lack job security and social protection, thus accentuating the inequalities exacerbated by the covid-19 crisis."

In the document, the ILO revises global employment growth downwards compared to previous forecasts, to 1% in 2023, a slowdown compared to the 2.3% increase seen in 2022.

Unemployment worldwide is expected to increase slightly in 2023, by around three million people, to 208 million, which corresponds to a global unemployment rate of 5.8%, the organization estimates.

The moderate increase in unemployment predicted by the ILO is mainly due to the low supply of labor in developed countries, but global unemployment will nevertheless remain 16 million above the pre-crisis reference value (set in 2019).

In addition to unemployment, "the quality of employment remains a fundamental concern," the report quoted by Lusa reads.

Progress in the poverty reduction process faltered for a decade during the covid-19 pandemic and, although there was a recovery during 2021, "the continued shortage of better job opportunities is likely to worsen", says the ILO.

"Many workers will have to accept lower quality jobs, often with very low wages, sometimes with insufficient hours," and furthermore, "as prices are rising faster than nominal income from work, the cost of living crisis risks pushing more people into poverty," the organization warns.

"This trend is in addition to the significant falls in incomes observed during the covid-19 crisis, which in many countries has affected low-wage groups the most," he adds.

The deterioration of the labor market is due to the emerging geopolitical tensions and the conflict in Ukraine, the uneven recovery from the crisis caused by the pandemic and failures in supply chains, which have created conditions for stagflation (both high inflation and low growth) for the first time since the 1970s, says the ILO.

According to the report, women and young people are "significantly worse off in the labor markets".

The participation rate of women in the labor market is set at 47.4% in 2022, compared to 72.3% for men, which means that "for every economically inactive man, there are two women in this situation," the document reads.

Young people between the ages of 15 and 24 "face serious difficulties in finding and keeping a decent job", warns the ILO, adding that the global youth unemployment rate is three times higher than that of adults and that 23.5% of young people are not in employment, education or training (NEET).

The ILO report also shows significant variations in the labor market by region.

Europe and Central Asia "are particularly affected by the economic consequences of the conflict in Ukraine", but, says the ILO, although employment is expected to fall in 2023, "their unemployment rates are likely to increase only slightly, given the scenario of limited growth in the working-age population".

For their part, Africa and the Arab States are expected to see employment growth "of around 3% or more", but the organization says it is likely that both regions will see unemployment rates fall "only modestly" (from 7.4% to 7.3% in Africa and from 8.5% to 8.2% in the Arab States).

In North America, there will be little or no job gains in 2023 and unemployment will rise, says the report.