Decent Work and Economic Growth
Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.
Global unemployment rate
5.0% (est)
ILO estimate · 2025
Youth unemployment rate
12.4% (est)
ILO estimate · 2025
Informal workers (58% of workforce)
1.97 billion (est)
ILO estimate · 2025
Working poverty rate
6.7% (est)
ILO estimate · 2025
Global Progress Score
Based on Sustainable Development Report 2025
Historical Trend (2015–2025)
Regional Comparison (2025)
Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth — Score per Country (2025)
Each country is scored 0–100 based on its progress toward this goal. Drag to rotate. Hover or tap a country to see its score.
Key Targets
SDR 2025 scores SDG 8 at 67.3/100 globally. The ILO 2025 World Employment and Social Outlook projects global unemployment stabilising at 5.7%. The World Bank's Global Economic Prospects 2025 forecast average developing-country GDP growth at 4.0% — still below the 7% LDC target. Structural unemployment in AI-exposed sectors is growing, with 300 million full-time jobs at risk from AI disruption by 2030 (Goldman Sachs Research 2023). The need for 400 million new jobs by 2030 remains unmet.
400M
new jobs needed globally by 2030 to absorb new labour market entrants — the equivalent of creating a workforce larger than the US and EU combined from scratch.
ILO: World Employment and Social Outlook 2025; SDR 2025 (SDSN)
Key Insights
The Informality Trap
2 billion workers are informally employed: no contract, no benefits, no protection. Most are in sub-Saharan Africa (86% informal) and South Asia (90% informal). Informality traps workers in low productivity, makes them invisible to policymakers, and perpetuates inter-generational poverty.
Child Labor Persists
160 million children are in child labor — 1 in 10 children globally — with 79 million in hazardous conditions. Progress had been steady but stalled after COVID-19, which forced 8.9 million more children into labor. Agriculture employs 70% of child laborers.
AI & Automation Risk
The ILO estimates 14% of jobs face a high risk of automation; 32% face significant change. Routine cognitive and manual jobs are most at risk. Low-wage workers in developing economies could face wage suppression without the social safety nets that cushioned automation in advanced economies.
Remittances: The Unsung Safety Net
Migrant workers sent $669 billion in remittances to developing countries in 2023 — 3× the value of all official development assistance. In countries like Tonga (50%), Lebanon (26%), and Moldova (15%), remittances represent a substantial share of GDP and the primary poverty reduction mechanism.
Core Challenges
Youth Unemployment Crisis
Youth unemployment is 3× higher than adult unemployment globally. 22.3% of young people are not in employment, education, or training (NEET). Career disruption in early adulthood causes permanent earnings "scarring." Developing economies are adding 1.2 billion youth to working age over the next decade.
Gender Pay Gap
Women earn 20% less than men globally for comparable work. Women are overrepresented in care work (underpaid), informal work (unprotected), and part-time work (structurally limited). COVID-19 widened the gap in many countries as women's sectors were hardest hit.
Debt and Growth Stagnation
Global GDP growth is projected at 2.4% in 2024 — well below the 7% per capita growth target for least developed countries. Rising debt levels in 60% of LDCs constrain public investment in the infrastructure and human capital that drive job creation.
2030 Outlook
The ILO estimates 400 million new jobs are needed by 2030. Creating them in an era of automation requires massive investment in reskilling, universal social protection, and sectoral strategies in care, green infrastructure, and digital services — where job growth can reach those most left behind.