ILO’s World Employment and Social Outlook report
Context:
Recently, the ILO’s World Employment and Social Outlook was released in Geneva. The report highlighted the role of AI in fall of labour income.
Relevance
GS-3 (Economy)
Key Highlights from the ILO’s World Employment and Social Outlook:
- The report states the stagnation of Labour Income Share since a 0.6 percentage point decline between 2019 and 2022.
- The report highlights the impact of Technological Innovations, particularly automation and AI that has increased labour productivity but also has contributed to the decline in the labour income share.
- It draws attention towards the youth Unemployment and Not in Employment, Education, or Training (NEET) rates globally, highlighting ongoing challenges in youth employment and skills development.
- The report also outlines the slow progress on key Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), partly due to challenges like declining labour income shares and high youth NEET rates.
International Labour Organization:
- It was established in the year 1919 under the Treaty of Versailles.
- It was the first affiliated specialized agency of the United Nations in 1946.
- It’s headquarters is at Geneva, Switzerland.
- The organization owing to its improved peace keeping among classes, pursuing decent work and justice for workers and for providing technical assistance to other developing nations, has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1969.
Way forward:
- The ILO emphasizes the need for comprehensive policy measures to ensure that the benefits of technological progress are more equitably distributed and to mitigate the risks of declining labour income and rising inequality.