27 May 2014: The International Labour Organization (ILO) released its annual report on global employment trends, calling for decent work to be a central goal of the post-2015 development agenda. ‘World of Work 2014: Developing with Jobs’ urges policy makers to invest in a diversified productive capacity, tackle under-employment, reduce the incidence of workers in vulnerable employment, and improve the situation of the working poor.

ILO Director General Guy Ryder, launching the report during the International Labour Conference in Geneva, Switzerland, on 27 May 2014, emphasized that development is not only about exports, open trade and foreign direct investment, but also labor standards and job quality.

The report presents examples of developing countries that have improved job quality and boosted living standards in recent years, including Peru, Senegal and Viet Nam. The authors highlight that 90% of employment growth in the next five years will occur in emerging and developing countries, giving a boost to South-South migration of qualified workers.

The report recommends: strengthening labor market institutions; designing social protection floors not only as safety nets but also drivers of development; and promoting balanced development that avoids harmful inequalities. The authors discuss: policies for decent work; labor and social protection institutions; social protection for economic development; income distribution; and international migration and development. They call on the international community to position decent work as a central goal of the post-2015 development agenda. [Publication: World of Work 2014: Developing With Jobs] [ILO Press Release]