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Topic portal

Employment promotion

Employment promotion and decent jobs creation are central to enabling countries to address the multiple transitions their societies, economies and labour markets are undergoing due to climate change, demographic shifts and technological developments. Achieving the goal of full, productive, and freely chosen employment, tackling poverty and inequalities and ensuring an inclusive structural transformation is essential for making progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially SDG 8, and requires comprehensive employment policy frameworks that address both short- and longer-term impacts of such change.

This includes promoting pro-employment macroeconomic, sectoral and labour market policies that are critical to ensuring social, economic and environmental transitions. It also includes the creation of quality jobs in the green, circular, digital and care economies; multi-stakeholder engagement; social dialogue; and the strengthening of partnerships for coordinated, coherent and integrated policy responses, including through the Global Accelerator on Jobs and Social Protection for Just Transitions. These are key solutions to strengthening productive capacities, creating more and better jobs and promoting formalization.

News and articles

How to adapt labour markets to changing demographics

How to adapt labour markets to changing demographics

51st ARLAC Governing Council calls for inclusive policies to tackle informality and promote decent work
Group photo of ARLAC Governing Council participants

51st ARLAC Governing Council calls for inclusive policies to tackle informality and promote decent work

Ongoing and upcoming events

Does providing digital skills and improving digital jobs lead to better labour market outcomes in low- and medium-income countries?

EMPLOYMENT Seminar Series

Does providing digital skills and improving digital jobs lead to better labour market outcomes in low- and medium-income countries?

Gender and employment

ITC/ILO online course

Gender and employment

Focus areas

Employment intensive investments
Upland farming near Lake Sebu, Philippines

Employment intensive investments

Employment services
Employment services counsellor meeting with young woman

Employment services

Employment Impact Assessment
Auto assembly

Employment Impact Assessment

Investing in transitions for decent jobs
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Investing in transitions for decent jobs

Most recent publications

ILO national technical assistance programme

ILO Brief

ILO national technical assistance programme

National roadmap for transforming Suriname’s Public Employment Services (PES) 2025-2028

Report to the Ministry of Labour, Employment Opportunity and Youth Affairs, Suriname

National roadmap for transforming Suriname’s Public Employment Services (PES) 2025-2028

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Robotic finger pointing upwards to blue sky with constellations
Podcast: Global Challenges - Global solutions

Podcast: Global Challenges - Global solutions

The Employment podcast series focuses attention on the impact of megatrends on labour markets worldwide and the emerging challenges and opportunities. They offer a human-centred approach to policymaking that help shift economies.

Featured projects

Building partnerships on the future of work
young persons looking at computer

Building partnerships on the future of work

Productivity Ecosystems for Decent Work
men-in-field-tractor

Productivity Ecosystems for Decent Work

Promoting decent employment for women through inclusive growth policies and investments in care
Promoting decent employment for women through inclusive growth policies and investments in care

Promoting decent employment for women through inclusive growth policies and investments in care

Skills for Trade and Economic Diversification (STED)
man-with-wire-net

Skills for Trade and Economic Diversification (STED)

Employment impact assessment to maximize job creation in Africa (STRENGTHEN2)
Crops being harvested by machine

Employment impact assessment to maximize job creation in Africa (STRENGTHEN2)

Mainstreaming Employment into Trade and Investment in the Southern Neighbourhood (METI)
Women pruning fruit trees

Mainstreaming Employment into Trade and Investment in the Southern Neighbourhood (METI)

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Global Accelerator

Global Accelerator

A UN initiative aiming to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and support the creation of decent jobs, primarily in the green, digital and care economies, and to extend social protection to people who are excluded.

Key resources

Guiding principles for coherent, comprehensive and integrated employment policy

International Labour Conference.110/Resolution IV

Guiding principles for coherent, comprehensive and integrated employment policy

Key international labour standards on employment

International instruments

Key international labour standards on employment