ILO Employment and Social Trends 2026: Jobs Report Notes
Why in the news
The ILO’s Employment and Social Trends 2026 report, released in Geneva, finds joblessness low but job quality still weak.
Key facts
- Unemployment, 2026: 4.9%, a historic low.
- Working poor: about 284 million earning under $3 daily.
- Informal workers: over 2 billion, with no security or social protection.
2015 to 2025
| Indicator | Change |
|---|---|
| Extreme-poverty share of workers | Down 3.1 points to 7.9% (previous decade: 15 points) |
| Global informality rate | Up 0.3 points |
Concerns
- Low-income countries show a rise in working poor and informal work.
- Gender gaps persist; contributing family work is the exception that shrank.
- DG Gilbert F. Houngbo cited “a lack of progress where it is needed most”.
- Trade uncertainty, structural change and digitalisation are reshaping supply chains and labour demand faster than workers adapt.
Exam angle
- Publisher: ILO; headline: 4.9%.