The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has warned that growing reliance on low-paid, insecure, low-productivity jobs is undermining workers’ skills development, economic resilience, and prospects for better employment, calling for sustained investment in job quality.

The ILO Chief Economist, Sangheon Lee, said poor-quality employment, particularly in developing countries, could perpetuate a cycle of low wages, weak productivity and limited opportunities for career advancement, ultimately undermining the foundations for sustainable economic growth.

Lee, in an opinion article, said that about 2.1 billion workers, representing 58 per cent of the global workforce, remained in informal employment, and that the gradual decline in informal jobs associated with economic growth has stalled in recent years.

He argued that many economies face not only a job shortage but also widespread employment that offers workers little protection, low pay, and limited opportunities to acquire new skills or advance professionally.

According to him, the assumption that countries must prioritise job creation over job quality, with better working conditions deferred until later stages of development, mistakes short-term necessity for a sustainable economic strategy.

He said that although low-quality jobs could absorb surplus labour, they could also weaken workers’ skills, productivity, consumer demand and resilience, reducing economies’ capacity to generate more and better employment.

Lee said the situation was particularly concerning for young people, whose first jobs often shaped their earnings, abilities, expectations and confidence in the future.

He warned that artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies could deepen existing inequalities if workers lacked access to quality jobs that enabled them to learn, adapt and benefit from productivity gains.

Beyond earnings and productivity, he said, decent employment offered wider social benefits by supporting workers’ health, family stability, education, personal development and trust in society.

Conversely, poor-quality jobs could impose hidden social costs that markets might not adequately recognise, making government intervention necessary to promote better employment standards.

Lee called for investment in skills development, social protection and support for productive small and medium-sized enterprises as part of strategies to prevent economies from becoming trapped in low-pay, low-skill and low-productivity employment.

He also urged policymakers and development finance institutions to look beyond the number of jobs created when assessing the impact of economic policies and investments.

According to him, such assessments should establish whether supported jobs improve wages, raise productivity, strengthen workers’ skills and voices, and provide better prospects for career progression.

Lee drew on the development philosophy of Indian economist, Amartya Sen, which views development as expanding people’s real freedoms and capabilities, arguing that work should enable people to learn, plan, participate in society, and improve their circumstances.

He maintained that continued dependence on poor-quality employment would weaken the very economic transformation needed to create sustainable growth and better jobs.