TOKYO – As economies in Asia and the Pacific slow and age, countries need to do more to ensure workers get the education, training and social safety nets they need to increase incomes and ensure social equity, he said Tuesday. a report from the United Nations on Friday.
The International Labor Organization report states that productivity growth has slowed, hurting incomes and undermining the purchasing power of the region’s 2 billion workers. By improving productivity, governments can increase revenues and better prepare for their aging workforce, the report says.
Two in three workers in the region had informal jobs in 2023, as a day job, without the types of protections that come with formal jobs.
“The lack of employment opportunities that meet decent work criteria, including good income, not only puts social justice in the region at risk, but also represents a risk factor for labor market prospects,” the report states.
Showing the potential for improvement, labor productivity grew at an average annual rate of 4.3% in 2004-2021, helping to increase earnings per worker in terms of purchasing power parity, which compares living standards across different countries using a common currency, to 15,700 dollars. from $7,700. But it has slowed over the past decade, the report says, hampering progress toward greater wealth.
He highlighted several challenges, especially unemployment among young people who are not in school, which is more than triple the rate for adults, at 13.7%.
The increasing use of artificial intelligence and other automation technologies will cause some people to lose their jobs, it said, with women involved in administrative and information technology jobs most likely to be affected as companies decrease their reliance on offshore call centers that provide good quality services. jobs in countries like the Philippines and India.
Other factors, such as trade disputes and political turmoil, threaten to disrupt employment in some industries, but aging poses an even greater challenge as countries age before they become rich.
The ratio of people in Asia over 65 to people aged 15 to 64 is expected to double to almost a third by 2050, up from around 15% in 2023, the ILO report says.
In places like Japan, labor-strapped employers have taken steps to lighten the workload, using robots and computerized ordering in restaurants, reducing hours and installing self-checkout machines.
The report noted that one of the main reasons why some countries face labor shortages despite having a large number of unemployed or underemployed workers is the mismatch between jobs, skills and education.
“The region still has enormous potential for upskilling, productivity improvements and efficiency gains, which can alleviate demographic pressures in the labor market,” he said.
The report noted that more than a third of workers in the region have educational levels that are too low for their professions, compared to 18% of workers in high-income countries.
Among other discoveries:
People in Asia and the Pacific still work longer hours than workers in other regions, averaging 44 hours a week, although that number is down from more than 47 hours in 2005.
In 2023, nearly 73 million workers in the region lived in extreme poverty, with daily incomes of less than $2.15 in purchasing power parity per person.
Despite the increase in the retirement age, total labor force participation in the Asia-Pacific region has fallen from 67% in 1991 to around 61% in 2023. It is predicted to fall to 55% by 2050.
The region’s need for long-term care workers is expected to more than double, from 46 million in 2023 to 90 million in 2050. This would increase the proportion of people working in the field from 2.3% to 4. .3% of the total. now.
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