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SDG 8 – Where do we stand?

Status and deviations
Sukti Dasgupta, Chief

ILO Employment, Labour Markets and Youth Branch

Date: Monday / 01 / October / 2019

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Introduction

SDG 8: ”Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic

growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all”.

Some progress made. However the severe economic and

employment impacts of COVID-19 pandemic have seriously
disrupted gains achieved.

Advancing social justice, promoting decent work

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Unemployment had been increasing in upper middle-income countries

even prior to COVID-19
 Globally unemployment rates had been falling between 7.0

2015 and 2019.

6.5
 Reduction in unemployment rates in high income
countries. 6.0

 In upper middle-income countries, unemployment rates

5.5
had been on the rise even prior to the COVID-19
pandemic.
5.0
 Global unemployment increased by 33 million in 2020,
with the unemployment rate increasing by 1.1 4.5

percentage points to 6.5 per cent.

4.0
 Female unemployment rates are slightly higher than for 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

men – in 2019, 5.5% vs. 5.3 %. World Low income Lower-middle income
Upper-middle income High income
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Informal employment remains a concern

100%
Total
 Prior to the pandemic, the informal 90% Agriculture
employment share was 60.2 per cent 80%
Non-agriculture

of global employment. Regional 70%

variations. 89 percent for LDCs. 60%

50%

 About 2 billion people worked in the 40%

informal economy. 30%

20%

10%
 Particularly worrisome in least
0%
developed countries, where the share

Latin America and the Caribbean

Australia and New Zealand

World

Central Asia and Southern Asia

Western Asia and Northern Africa

Eastern Asia and South-eastern Asia

Sub-Saharan Africa

Northern America and Europe

Least Developed Countries (LDCs)

Small island developing States (SIDS)

Landlocked developing countries (L...
of informal employment in total
employment was 88.7 per cent
(2019).
 Severely affected by current crisis.
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SDG 8.8.2: Level of national compliance with labour rights (freedom of

association and collective bargaining)

 Slight progress under SDG

indicator 8.8.2 at the global level.
 Several countries carrying out
important changes in legislation.
 Violations of workers’ and employers’
right to organize and bargain
collectively remained significant in
2018.

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Some progress on gender equality prior to the pandemic

 Women are under-represented in managerial
positions (SDG 5.5.2) . By 2019, even though
Female earnings as a percentage of male earnings:
women accounted for nearly 39 per cent of the simple average
global labour force, they occupied only 28.2 per 100% 93%
96%

cent of managerial positions. 90%

90%
87%

80%
72%
70%
 Female workers still earn significantly less than 60%

male workers throughout the world (SDG 50%

8.5.1); above-all in low income countries. 40%

30%

20%

 Women have been hard hit by the crisis and 10%

were more likely than men to become inactive, 0%

World Low income Lower-middle Upper-middle High income
income income
further increasing gender gaps in labour force
participation rates.
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Youth- NEET rates had been increasing in some regions, even prior to the
COVID-19 pandemic (SDG 8.6.1)
 Globally, the share of young NEET had remained
stable between 2015 and 2019. 35

 This reflected falls in Europe and the Americas, on 30

the one hand;

25

 And an increase in Africa and most markedly Arab

20
States on the other.
15
 Young females are more than twice as likely as
men to be NEET - in 2019 were 31.1% for young 10
women and 14% for young men. In lower middle- 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

income countries almost ¾ of NEETs are female. World Africa Americas

Arab States Asia and the Pacific Europe and Central Asia

 NEET rate likely to rise due to Covid 19.

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8.b.1: “Existence of a developed and operationalized national strategy for youth

employment, as a distinct strategy or as part of a national employment strategy”.
Data on indicator 8.b.1 continues to show the commitment of
countries for youth employment (90 of 107 responses).

Countries by value of SDG Indicator 8.b.1 in 2020 (%)

 A third (33) have formulated • A jobs and skills policy mis-
and operationalized a 1% match!
national strategy for youth 24%

employment. 31%
• Most countries have skills
policies , very little on jobs
 41.1% of them (44) have for youth.
such strategies but no
conclusive evidence on 44%

implementation.
Strategy formulated and operationalized
Strategy formulated but no evidenve of operationalization
 A quarter (27) are in the Strategy in the process of development

process of formulating a No strategy

strategy.
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Covid 19 impact - Unprecedented and devastating

* Four time larger than in the

Great Recession (2008)

• Global labour income is estimated to have declined by 8.3 per cent in 2020
relative to 2019.

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The COVID-19 crisis has dealt a serious blow to achieving SDG 8

 Severe job loss leading to growth in unemployment and inactivity, and loss of
labour income.
 The impact has been more severe for women, youth, and vulnerable groups.
 Labour market inequality has increased.
 The regional picture is quite varied: advanced countries are ‘recovering’, but
developing countries – including many upper middle-income countries, still in
crisis.
 Impact on SDG 8 likely to affect other SDG indicators, especially SDG 1
(poverty), 2 (hunger) 5 (gender), 10 (inequality).
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Thank you.

Advancing social justice, promoting decent work

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Significant progress has been made in reducing working poverty

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 70%

World

share of the world’s workers living Least Developed Countries

(LDCs)

below the poverty line had decreased 60% Landlocked developing coun-
tries (LLDCs)

significantly from 26.2 per cent in

Sub-Saharan Africa
Oceania excluding Australia
50% and New Zealand
2000 to 6.6 per cent in 2019 – Central Asia and Southern
Asia
showing encouraging progress
40%
towards the achievement of SDG
Goal 1 to end poverty in all its forms 30%
everywhere.
20%

10%

0%
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Advancing social justice, promoting decent work