World Bank Group Launches High-Level Council to Address Looming Jobs Crisis
The World Bank Group today announced the creation of the High-Level Advisory Council on Jobs, a new initiative aimed at identifying actionable policies and programs to tackle the impending jobs crisis in the Global South.
Over the next decade, an unprecedented 1.2 billion young people in the Global South will enter working age. However, the job market is projected to create only 420 million jobs, leaving nearly 800 million without clear employment opportunities. Although some of these young people will pursue further education, their eventual entry into the labor market will intensify this challenge.
The High-Level Advisory Council is a dedicated initiative by the World Bank Group to transform this looming crisis into an opportunity for driving future prosperity. It will focus on enhancing employment opportunities for youth and women, addressing the global labor force participation rate disparity, where women’s participation stands at just over 50%, compared to 80% for men.
The Council will bring together leading experts from government, business, civil society, and academia to provide thought leadership and develop actionable strategies for creating large-scale employment opportunities. These strategies will be tested within the World Bank Group and piloted in partner countries. Those that prove successful will be scaled up to effectively address the global jobs challenge.
The Council will be led and co-chaired by Tharman Shanmugaratnam, President of the Republic of Singapore and former Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic and Social Policies, and Michelle Bachelet, former President of the Republic of Chile and two-term Head of Government (2006-2010 and 2014-2018).
“Creating jobs is the surest way to combat poverty and grow prosperity,” said World Bank Group President Ajay Banga. “A job is the most meaningful yardstick of success for any individual: with a job comes dignity, pride, and the ability to provide for yourself and your family. We are launching the Council to set our development strategy on a foundation of creating employment opportunities in all corners of the globe.”
“Good jobs are at the core of aspirations everywhere, but also a growing challenge in the face of rapidly advancing technologies, geoeconomic uncertainty, and climate threats,” said Shanmugaratnam. “New strategies are needed to achieve sustained job and income growth among developing world populations, and the benefits this will bring for the global economy too.”
“The challenge is unprecedented in modern history: we must provide meaningful job opportunities for hundreds of millions of young people and women in the Global South,” said Bachelet. “This High-Level Advisory Council will seek to identify policies that are both effective and can be implemented on the ground, ensuring that economic growth and social justice go hand in hand. Let’s help prepare young people and women for the challenges of today and the future. Our goal is for all of them to have an opportunity to contribute to and benefit from a more inclusive global economy.”
The Council will meet regularly and work closely with Banga and World Bank Group senior leadership. The members of the Council will be announced soon, and the first meeting is planned during the 2024 World Bank Group-IMF Annual Meetings.
