Global Employment and Labour Markets: Jobs Gap, Informality and Working Poverty

The ILO Employment and Social Trends 2026 report, released on 14 January 2026, finds that headline labour market indicators are stable but progress on job quality has stalled [1]. Global unemployment is projected to stay at 4.9% in 2026, equal to 186 million people [1].

The ILO says this stability should not be mistaken for healthy labour market conditions [2]. The broader jobs gap, which counts people who want paid work but cannot access it, is projected at 408 million in 2026 [2]. That is more than twice the number of unemployed (FREEE.REPORT comparison of 408 million and 186 million).

Nearly 300 million workers live in extreme poverty, earning less than USD 3 a day [1]. Informality is rising, with 2.1 billion workers expected to hold informal jobs by 2026 [1]. These workers have limited access to social protection, rights at work and job security [1].

The ILO links the stall in job quality to a slower shift of workers into higher-value industries and services, and into sectors with higher formality and employee status [1] [2].

Labour market trends differ by country income group [2]. Employment growth in 2026 is projected at 0.5% in upper-middle-income countries, 1.8% in lower-middle-income economies and 3.1% in low-income economies [1].

In richer economies, ageing populations are slowing labour force growth [1]. Low-income countries face the opposite problem: turning fast population growth into productive jobs [1]. The ILO warns that without enough productive jobs, poorer countries risk losing their demographic dividend [1].

Women account for just two fifths of global employment [1]. They are 24% less likely than men to participate in the labour force, and gains in female labour force participation have stalled [1].

Trade supports 465 million workers worldwide, more than half of them in Asia and the Pacific [1]. Digitally delivered services account for 14.5% of global exports, and nearly half of all trade-related jobs are in market services [1].

Uncertainty over trade rules and supply chain bottlenecks is cutting into wages, especially in Southeast Asia, Southern Asia and Europe [1]. The ILO also flags artificial intelligence and automation as a risk for young people entering high-skill occupations [1]. UN News reports the same headline figures from the report [3].

All figures come from the ILO Employment and Social Trends 2026 report as presented on the ILO publication page and the ILO press release of 14 January 2026 [1] [2], with UN News coverage used as a cross-check [3]. Values for 2026 are ILO projections, not observed outcomes.

The jobs gap includes the unemployed plus people outside the labour force who want a job. Extreme working poverty refers to workers living on less than USD 3 a day. The comparison between the jobs gap and the number of unemployed is a FREEE.REPORT calculation using the two ILO 2026 projections.