About 186 million people worldwide will be out of work in 2026, the International Labour Organisation says, and the global jobless rate is set to hold at 4.9 per cent. On paper that looks steady. The ILO’s message is that steady is not the same as good.
The figures come from the agency’s Employment and Social Trends 2026 report. It describes headline employment as stable while progress on job quality has stalled and inequalities have widened. The authors weighed productivity, demographic pressures and economic strains on work in the year ahead, and set out what it would take to make growth more inclusive.
ILO Director-General Gilbert Houngbo warned against taking comfort from resilient growth and calm unemployment numbers. Hundreds of millions of workers, he said, remain trapped in poverty, informality and exclusion. He pointed to low-income countries, where a sharp lack of progress is pushing people with the worst working conditions further behind.
Poverty and informal work
Nearly 300 million workers still live in extreme poverty, according to the report, getting by on less than $3 a day. Informal work is growing too. By 2026, 2.1 billion workers are expected to hold informal jobs.
Young workers face the sharpest squeeze
Youth unemployment reached 12.4 per cent in 2025, and around 260 million young people were not in education, employment or training. In low-income countries that share of young people stood at 27.9 per cent.
Artificial intelligence and automation could make matters worse. The ILO flagged educated young people in high-income countries as especially exposed, particularly those hunting for a first job in high-skilled occupations. Trade policy uncertainty adds to the risk.
What the ILO wants
Houngbo called for coordinated action and stronger institutions to advance decent work and social justice, with poorer economies the most likely to be left behind as supply chains and digital trade expand. He recommended policies that raise productivity, including investment in skills, education and infrastructure. He also urged governments to close the gaps facing women and young people by removing barriers to participation and using technology responsibly.
The report asks for trade arrangements that deliver decent work in every region, and for joint global and domestic policies to limit the dangers from debt, AI and trade uncertainty.
Sources
Sources
- Global job quality stagnates despite resilient growth
- Global unemployment will soon hit 202 million, ILO predicts – CBC
