ISLAMABAD: The International Labour Organisation (ILO) says the unemployment rate in Asia-Pacific is expected to remain constant at 4.5 per cent during 2024-25 in view of the socio-economic developments in low- and middle-income economies of the region as poverty rates have decreased and youth education enrolment improved.

At around 4.5pc, the regional unemployment rate fell below pre-pandemic levels in 2023, but this figure conceals heterogeneity across countries and age groups, according to the ‘World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2024 Report’ published on Wednesday.

The unemployment rate is expected to remain constant over the next two years and significantly lower than the spike in 2020 of 5.5pc. It is also lower than the pre-pandemic level — 4.7pc in 2019 — and the long-term average of 5.1pc between 2010 and 2019.

The report says joblessness and the jobs gap have both fallen below pre-pandemic levels but global unemployment will rise in 2024, and growing inequalities and stagnant productivity are causes for concern.

Globally, the jobs gap is expected to have numbered 434.8 million persons in 2023, equating to a jobs-gap rate of 11.1pc. This marks a 5.6m decrease in the size of the jobs gap from 2022. Among women, the jobs gap is expected to have been 220.7m in 2023 and, among men, 214.1m.

Published in Dawn, January 11th, 2024