A current look into the global labor market

The world of work has changed since the pandemic, from the shift to a remote or hybrid arrangement to the heightened need for upskilling and reskilling. The labor market also saw an increase in unemployment, then went through the phenomenon called the “Great Resignation.”

Even as organizations across the world are now striving to move forward from the global crisis, however, the labor market continues to face challenges amid political and economic crises.

Such crises are likely to expand inequalities in the labor market, given certain groups of workers and companies are impacted unequally, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Monitor on the World of Work 10th edition released in October 2022.

The report saw uneven recovery among economies and jobs.

Employment has attained or even moved past the pre-pandemic levels in most advanced economies; while a struggle with labor shortages is being faced by several employers. But in low- and middle-income economies, deficits are apparent.

Meanwhile, high-skilled jobs saw a more robust recovery by the second quarter of last year. Whereas, low- and medium-skilled occupations were still under their level in the same quarter in 2019.

Employment and job opportunities

A slowdown in hiring is being seen across the world amid the economic uncertainty. Nonetheless, in the global labor market, the economic slowdown expected to carry on this year would not seem to be close as the severity experienced in 2020 and 2009, said Allen Blue, vice-president for product management and co-founder at LinkedIn.

“While hiring is likely to continue to slow, it’s coming down from record highs; and the slowdown in output growth in 2023 is not generally expected to be reflected in large rises in unemployment,” Mr. Blue wrote in an article published on the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) website.

Meanwhile, labor markets remained to be tight, looking at the ratio of job openings to applicants on the professional networking platform.

“On average, we’re not seeing really strong competition for roles that you might expect amidst a more challenging economic outlook. There are two active applicants for every open role in the UK (United Kingdom) and France, for example, and one active job opening for every active applicant in Germany and the US (United States),” Mr. Blue said.

In terms of opportunities, jobs are being generated amid the challenges of climate change and cyber threats as well as the need for businesses to drive growth, according to LinkedIn.

Jobs in sustainability are in demand in 13 countries. Demand also jumped for sales and business development roles. Cybersecurity roles, meanwhile, appeared in the “Jobs on the Rise” list of LinkedIn for 18 countries.

Furthermore, Mr. Blue also remarked on the need to invest in future jobs and upskilling people. Citing WEF data, he noted that the shift in the division of labor between humans and machines would create an estimated 97 million new jobs but would displace 85 million by 2025.

“What’s clear to me is the fundamental need to identify and invest in the jobs of the future, while equipping people with the skills and support needed to transition into them. It’s mission-critical that we do more to break down systemic barriers and ensure that opportunities, skills, and education are equally distributed,” he said.

Gender gaps

Gap and disparity concerning gender also remained to be an issue in the world of work.

In terms of paid hours worked by women and men, the gender gap further became a concern during the pandemic. The hours worked by women nevertheless recovered at the end of 2021 and early 2022. Despite addressing this gap has progressed recently, the ILO noted that the gap was still high, suggesting a “worrying situation.”

Women worked 14.5 fewer paid hours per week than men, which is equivalent to 57.5 paid hours per every 100 worked by men, according to the ILO.

“At the pace of progress of the last year, it would take more than 60 years to close this gap,” the organization noted.

The ILO also noted in an article that progress is still slow in gender parity in terms of women’s share in management. While this has been increasing globally and is a bit higher than the pre-pandemic, the rise was only 0.9 percentage points since 2015.

Women took 28.2% of management positions in 2021, according to the ILO.

“At the current rate of progress, more than 140 years would pass before gender parity in managerial positions would be achieved,” the organization said. — Chelsey Keith P. Ignacio