International Labour Organization, ILO, says almost half a billion people across the globe are underpaid.

Similarly, the World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2020, WESO, shows that unemployment is projected to increase by around 2.5 million in 2020.

Global unemployment has been roughly stable for the last nine years but slowing global economic growth means that as the global labour force increases, not enough new jobs are being generated to absorb new entrants to the labour market.

Speaking on the report, ILO’s Director-General, Guy Ryder, said “For millions of ordinary people, it’s increasingly difficult to build better lives through work.

READ ALSO: Nigeria is losing whole generation to unemployment

Persisting and substantial work-related inequalities and exclusion are preventing them from finding decent work and better futures.

That’s an extremely serious finding that has profound and worrying implications for social cohesion. For millions of ordinary people, it’s increasingly difficult to build better lives through work.”

The WESO shows that the mismatch between labour supply and demand extends beyond unemployment into broader labour underutilization.

vangaurd