The worldwide labour earnings share represents the portion of whole earnings earned by employees.
In its World Employment and Social Outlook: September 2024 Update, ILO mentioned the worldwide labour earnings share fell by 0.6 proportion factors from 2019 to 2022 and has since remained flat, compounding a long-running downward pattern.
If the share had remained on the identical degree as in 2004, labour earnings could be bigger by $2.4 trillion in 2024 alone, ILO mentioned.
“The COVID-19 pandemic is a key driver of this decline, with almost 40% of the discount within the labour earnings share occurring in the course of the pandemic years of 2020-2022,” it mentioned.
“The disaster exacerbated present inequalities, significantly as capital earnings continues to pay attention among the many wealthiest, undermining progress in the direction of the Sustainable Growth Aim 10, which goals to scale back inequality inside and amongst nations,” ILO added.ILO additional mentioned that technological advances, together with automation, have performed a job on this pattern. “Whereas these improvements have boosted productiveness and output the proof means that employees are usually not sharing equitably from the ensuing good points,” it added. The report warns that with out complete insurance policies to make sure that the advantages of technological progress are broadly shared, current developments within the area of synthetic intelligence may deepen inequality, placing the achievement of the SDGs in danger.
“Nations should take motion to counter the chance of declining labour earnings share,” Celeste Drake, deputy director-general, ILO mentioned.
“We want insurance policies that promote an equitable distribution of financial advantages, together with freedom of affiliation, collective bargaining and efficient labour administration, to attain inclusive development, and construct a path to sustainable improvement for all,” Drake added.
