Africa, Middle East driving growing ’employment divide’, UN says

The International Labour Organization says low-income countries in Africa and the Middle East are missing out on the post-pandemic recovery in unemployment rates [File: Asmaa Waguih/Reuters]

Low-income countries in Africa and the Middle East are missing out on the global recovery of unemployment rates to pre-pandemic levels, the United Nations labour agency has warned.

Global unemployment is expected to drop to 5.3 percent – representing 191 million people – this year, down from 5.4 percent in 2022 and 5.5 percent in 2019 as labour markets recover from the shock of COVID-19 and pandemic restrictions, according to a report released by the International Labour Organization (ILO) on Wednesday.