ITUC’s annual World Economic and Social Outlook suggests that:

  •  The Ukraine conflict, an uneven recovery from the pandemic and ongoing bottlenecks in supply chains have created the conditions for stagflation in 2023.
  •  The absence of increases in labour incomes have created a cost-of-living crisis that threatens the livelihoods of households and risks depressing demand.
  •  The global jobs gap stood at 473 million in 2022, a rate of 12.3%, with a gender jobs gap to match the gender pay gap: The jobs gap for women is 15%, compared with 10.5% for men.
  •  Global employment is projected to expand by only 1% in 2023, down from 2.3% in 2022.
  •  Only 47% of people worldwide are covered by at least one social protection benefit.
  •  The unemployment rate for young people aged 15-24 is three times higher than that for adults.