Present and future of work in the Least Developed Countries

The social and economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic are being felt deeply, especially in Least Developed Countries (LDCs).

This is in large part due to their structural vulnerabilities, inadequate social protection systems, and limited fiscal capacity to foster a human-centred recovery. The uneven recovery from COVID-19 risks to further entrench these global inequalities.

At the same time, digitalisation is rapidly changing the nature of work around the world, including in LDCs. The adoption and adaptation of digital technologies can be a powerful component of productive transformation that can benefit almost all sectors of the economy and generate widespread productivity and employment growth.

The LDC population is young and access to education and skills development is on the rise, which means the potential for harnessing digital technologies remains high. Digital technologies can potentially deliver large benefits to LDCs provided that significant investments are made in capital and in people to ensure technologies help drive productive and inclusive growth and support decent work outcomes.

The Doha Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2022-2031 addresses many of these challenges and emphasizes the importance of promoting productive transformation and decent work opportunities in LDCs to achieve sustainable development. 

OHRLLS, in cooperation with ILO and the Group of Friends for the LDCs, launched a new ILO Report titled, “Present and Future of Work in the LDCs”.

This report highlights good practices and opportunities to help countries prioritize policies in national development plans.

Specific topics include:

• the use of comprehensive employment and enterprise development policies;
• the role of just transition for a sustainable and inclusive economic transformation, fostering productivity growth and productive capacities;
• the expansion of social protection systems;
• the application of labour standards.

Read the report HERE.