African countries must link trade and investment policies with employment strategies, skills development and social dialogue to ensure deeper regional integration translates into more and better jobs, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has said.

New ILO research showed broad agreement among governments, employers and workers’ organisations across Africa that trade policies cannot be pursued in isolation from employment considerations.

According to the ILO report, ‘Trade, Investment and Decent Work in Africa’, released recently, 95 per cent of government respondents, 93 per cent of workers’ organisations and 91 per cent of employers’ associations identified employment policies among the most effective measures for ensuring that the benefits of trade are inclusive.

The findings are significant as African economies deepen regional and global integration, particularly through implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

The ILO said international trade already accounts for an average of 60 per cent of Africa’s Gross Domestic Product and supports about 12 per cent of employment across the continent.

“Trade policy cannot work in isolation,” ILO Regional Director for Africa, Fanfan Rwanyindo Kayirangwa, said.

She said Africa had a major opportunity to turn expanding trade and regional integration into “more and better jobs”, stressing that employment policies and meaningful social dialogue could help ensure that growing trade and investment create opportunities for both workers and enterprises.

The report found that about three-quarters of respondents viewed job creation as a primary benefit of trade. In contrast, others identified increased market access, skills development, technological advancement and productivity gains. However, stakeholders also raised concerns about potential job displacement, informality, low wages, and poor working conditions.

The ILO said the concerns were particularly important given the structure of African labour markets, where informal employment accounts for more than 85 per cent of total employment on average.

Informality also remains widespread in export-oriented agricultural supply chains, highlighting the risk that increased trade volumes may not automatically translate into decent employment.

The report also identified social protection, education and training as important measures to ensure workers and enterprises can benefit from trade expansion, although priorities varied among governments, employers and workers.

On labour provisions in trade and investment arrangements, the ILO said only 15 of the 50 trade agreements involving African countries that are currently in force and reported to the World Trade Organisation contain references to labour provisions.

More than 80 per cent of stakeholders surveyed, however, identified improved labour standards and stronger social dialogue among the main benefits of including such provisions.

The organisation said participation by employers’ and workers’ organisations in trade and investment policymaking was therefore critical, given their knowledge of skills requirements, working conditions, barriers to international markets, and difficulties in meeting labour standards.

It called for structured, predictable and well-informed social dialogue to be integrated with employment, skills and social protection policies as African countries seek to maximise the benefits of trade and regional integration.

The ILO said such an approach would help countries convert expanding trade opportunities into broader employment and enterprise gains rather than allowing the benefits of integration to remain concentrated in limited sectors or groups.