Global joblessness expected to stay at record low levels:

Category : Business and economics Published on: January 16 2026

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The International Labour Organization’s Employment and Social Trends 2026 report, released in Geneva, has projected that the global unemployment rate will hold steady at a historically low 4.9% this year, affecting about 186 million people.
Despite this, the report highlights persistent hardship, noting that nearly 284 million workers continue to live in extreme poverty, earning under $3 per day, while more than two billion people worldwide remain employed in the informal sector.
Between 2015 and 2025, the proportion of workers in extreme poverty declined by just 3.1 percentage points to 7.9%, far slower than the 15-point reduction seen in the previous decade. The ILO warned that millions of workers still lack access to stable and quality employment.