As economic growth stabilizes in Eastern Europe, the unemployment rate is projected to decline, but only gradually, to reach 6.1 per cent in 2017, a new ILO report World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2017 shows. This reflects falling unemployment rates in most of the countries in the region, notably the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland, largely offset by increasing unemployment in Bulgaria, Romania and the Russian Federation. Considering that regional employment growth is projected to remain in negative territory, the expected unemployment reduction is mainly attributable to a reduction in the labour force of 0.7 per cent per year between 2016 and 2018, partly explained by rising emigration rates. Meanwhile, the share of workers in vulnerable employment is expected to increase for the first time since 2009, reaching 11.2 per cent in 2016 and edging further upwards in 2017.

The global unemployment rate is expected to rise modestly from 5.7 to 5.8 per cent in 2017 representing an increase of 3.4 million in the number of jobless people.

The report shows that vulnerable forms of employment – i.e. contributing family workers and own account workers – are expected to stay above 42 per cent of total employment, accounting for 1.4 billion people worldwide in 2017. 

In both Europe and North America, long-term unemployment remains stubbornly high compared to pre-crisis levels, and in the case of Europe, it continues to climb despite the receding unemployment rates, ILO says. Global uncertainty and lack of decent jobs underpin social unrest and migration, the United Nations adds.