Abstract
Despite the resilience of global unemployment rates amid economic uncertainty, the world continues to fall short in achieving meaningful reductions in decent work deficits. Given demographic shifts in global labour markets, decent work deficits are set to increase again after a prolonged period of improvement. Yet, rising AI adoption, trade policy uncertainty, low foreign direct investment and stagnant trade growth render improvements in working conditions through an expansion of employment in trade-related sectors more difficult. In times of sluggish global growth and falling levels of official development assistance, countries will need to increasingly rely on domestic policies and drivers of economic transformation to promote decent work.