Global jobs growth will 'deteriorate significantly' this quarter - ILO

China Health

31/10/2022 11:00

By Emma Farge
       GENEVA, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Global employment growth will
"deteriorate significantly" this quarter, hit by the economic
turmoil caused by the Ukraine war and by the impact of tighter
monetary policy on consumption, the International Labour
Organization (ILO) said on Monday, 
    There are already signs that a recovery in global hours
worked that was seen in early 2022 went into reverse in the
second and third quarters, the U.N. body said.
    Overall, there were 40 million fewer full-time jobs between
July-September than in the fourth quarter of 2019, which is used
as the benchmark level before the COVID pandemic, it added.
    "On current trends, global employment growth will
deteriorate significantly in the fourth quarter of 2022," the
ILO said in its report on the World of Work.
    The ILO attributed the deterioration in the level of hours
worked in mid-2022 to the reintroduction of public health
restrictions and ensuing labour market disruptions in China as
well as to the Ukraine conflict and resultant inflationary
pressures from disruptions to energy and food exports.
    The report also said that excessive policy tightening could
cause "undue damage to jobs and incomes in both advanced and
developing countries". 
    The ILO warned of declining job vacancies ahead and rising
unemployment in the final months of the year. There are already
signs that the labour market has cooled considerably in advanced
economies, with sharp declines in vacancy growth, it said. 
    ILO Director-General Gilbert Houngbo called for a series of
policies aimed at supporting the most vulnerable people and
businesses, which might include channelling windfall corporate
profits towards employment or income support.
    "We cannot insist enough on the need for social packages and
the need to ensure that the monetary tightening to combat the
inflation is really dovetailed with social measures," he told a
Geneva press briefing.
 (Reporting by Emma Farge; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
 ((emma.farge@thomsonreuters.com;))