ILO Flags Rising Working Poverty as Youth & Women Jobs Decrease

By: WE Staff | Thursday, 15 January 2026

• The global unemployment rate is expected to hold at 4.9% in 2026, affecting 186 million people worldwide.
• Nearly 284 million workers are still surviving in extreme poverty and more than two billion work in informal conditions ​‍​‌‍​‍‌globally.

Recently,​‍​‌‍​‍‌ the International Labour Organization (ILO) revealed in a blurb that "It is expected that the world will be able to enjoy the historically lowest unemployment rate of 4.9 percent which is roughly equal to 186 million people in 2026" basing it on the document "Employment and Social Trends 2026" which was presented at the ILO headquarters in Geneva yesterday (January 14, 2026).

The research showed that there are still about 284 million workers who are so poor that they have to live day by day with less than three dollars as their only source of income; meanwhile, the number of workers employed in the informal sector exceeds 2 billion.

The report states that between 2015 and 2025, "the percentage of people living in extreme poverty barely dropped by 3.1 percentage points to 7.9%, whereas in the previous decade, it dropped by 15 percentage points.Therefore, the report states that 284 million workers are going through extreme poverty which means living on less than $3.00 a day." "A huge number of workers globally are deprived of decent work," it ​‍​‌‍​‍‌said.

"But​‍​‌‍​‍‌ in low-income countries, the number of working poor and informal economy workers continues to rise," pointed out ILO Director-General Gilbert F. Houngbo, referring to a lack of progress in the areas that most need it. The Director-General also said that there are still big inequalities in the world of work for women, "with very small improvements in most areas, except for family contributing work."