Inside West Africa’s youth labour market: Informality, inequality and missed opportunities
Young people in West African Economic and Monetary Union countries face persistent barriers to decent work, with widespread informality and deep inequalities limiting labour market opportunities.
The world of work and the 2030 Agenda: a ten-year review
When the world adopted the Sustainable Development Goals a decade ago, it pledged to achieve each one of them by 2030. With less than five years left, ILO data shows that much more is needed if we are to fulfil that promise.
Employment and Social Trends 2026
This report examines the state of global labour markets, highlighting stable headline employment alongside stalled progress in job quality and widening inequalities. The report analyses productivity, demographic and economic pressures shaping work in the year ahead and outlines the challenges to achieving more inclusive growth.
Dataviz: Employment and Social Trends 2026
The WESO report’s dataviz presents the underlying ILO estimates used to examine the state of global labour markets, highlighting stable headline employment alongside stalled progress in job quality and widening inequalities. Indicators cover the labour force, employment, labour underutilization and working poverty.
The complex link between education and labour underutilization
On World Youth Skills Day, we explore the hardships of university graduates to find decent jobs around the world.
Youth NEET rate
This snapshot presents global and regional trends along with the most recent country-level figures, based on the latest statistical standards and definitions adopted at the 19th International Conference of Labour Statisticians (ICLS) (ILO, 2013), as well as the previous standards from the 13th ICLS (ILO, 1982). In some cases, such as for high-income countries, these […]
Unemployment rate
This snapshot presents global and regional trends along with the most recent country-level figures, based on the latest statistical standards and definitions adopted at the 19th International Conference of Labour Statisticians (ICLS) (ILO, 2013), as well as the previous standards from the 13th ICLS (ILO, 1982). In some cases, such as for high-income countries, these […]
Quick guide on the communication of results after implementation of latest standards on statistics of work, employment, and labour underutilization
A crucial aspect of the implementation of latest labour statistics standards is the effective communication of the results, to ensure getting the best out of the data. This guide aims to provide practical data visualization examples to convey clearly and intuitively the impact of methodological changes on key labour indicators following the implementation of the 19th ICLS resolution and avoid misinterpretation of the results.
How the latest statistical standards improve knowledge about rural women’s work
Latest statistical standards improve our knowledge of the challenges and decent work deficits that women in rural areas face. Such knowledge is key to formulating effective policies that foster the women’s potential for growth and development.
The plight of older workers in labour underutilization
The International Day of Older Persons gives us an opportunity to delve into the labour underutilization patterns of seniors. While their unemployment rates are generally rather low, they are hiding other more prevalent forms of labour underutilization including job-search discouragement.