Over the past two decades, significant progress has been made in reducing poverty in the majority of countries. In emerging and developing countries, taken as a whole, it is estimated that nearly 2 billion people live on less than $3.10 per day (adjusted for cost-of-living differences across countries).

This represents around 36 per cent of the emerging and developing world’s population, which is nearly half the rate that was observed in 1990, when the initial international commitments to reduce poverty were undertaken.

During the same period, extreme poverty – defined as people living on less than $1.90 per day – declined at an even faster rate to reach 15 per cent of the total population of emerging and developing countries in 2012, the latest available year.

Progress, however, has been uneven. While improvements have been significant in a number of countries, notably China and much of Latin America, the incidence of poverty remains stubbornly high in Africa and parts of Asia. Moreover, in developed countries, an increase in poverty has been recorded, especially in Europe.

It is estimated that, in 2012, over 300 million people in developed countries were living in poverty (defined in relative terms on the basis of incomes representing less than 60 per cent of the median income). The gains have also been uneven across population groups. Poverty affects women disproportionately, and children to an even greater extent.

In emerging and developing countries, more than half of all children under the age of 15 live in extreme or moderate poverty. In developed countries, 36 per cent of all children live below the relative poverty line.

Even where progress has been made, gains remain fragile. A significant proportion of those who moved out of poverty continue to live on just a few dollars per day, often with limited access to essential services and social protection which would allow them to exit precarious living conditions on a more permanent basis.

Also, in those developed countries where quality jobs are scarce, there is growing anxiety among middle-class families about their ability to sustain their income position.

Similarly, the recent deterioration of economic prospects in Asia, Latin America, the Arab region and those countries rich in natural resources has begun to expose the fragility of the recent employment and social advances.

Already, in a number of these countries, income inequality has begun to rise after being in decline for decades and thus a reversal of some of the progress made to date in tackling poverty is not inconceivable. Likewise, latest trends suggest a further escalation in relative poverty levels in Europe and other developed countries.

A continuation of the uneven and fragile progress in reducing poverty may compromise the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations in September 2015, including both SDG 1 – to end poverty in all its forms and everywhere by 2030 – and many of the other SDGs.

Furthermore, the poor may completely miss out on the technological revolution which is transforming today’s economies and societies. Already, although they represent 30 per cent of the world’s population, the poor receive less than 2 per cent of the world’s income.

So, unless action is taken, poverty will tend to perpetuate itself across generations. This may exacerbate socio-economic instability and erode support for pro-growth policies. A key finding of the study is that it will not be possible to reduce poverty in a lasting manner without decent work. In other words, decent work is a necessary (though not sufficient) condition for eradicating poverty.

ILO estimates suggest that nearly $10 trillion is needed to eradicate extreme and moderate poverty by 2030. However, this cannot realistically be achieved by income transfers alone. The solution requires more than simply the availability of resources. Indeed, the ability of people to sustain themselves through good jobs will need to be enhanced. Almost one-third of the extreme and moderate poor in emerging and developing countries actually have a job.

However, these jobs are vulnerable in 4 World Employment and Social Outlook 2016 – Transforming jobs to end poverty nature: they are sometimes unpaid, concentrated in low-skilled occupations and, in the absence of social protection, the poor rely almost exclusively on labour income.

In addition, two-thirds of the jobs are in typically low-productivity agricultural activities. Among developed countries, a greater number of workers have wage and salaried employment, but that does not prevent them from falling into poverty. In fact, more than 80 per cent of the working poor in developed countries are in wage and salaried employment.

Without an adequate supply of decent work opportunities, it will be difficult for the working poor to improve their working conditions, acquire a career and thus lift themselves and their families out of poverty.

For economic growth to facilitate poverty reduction, it needs to be broad-based and avoid the neglect that has sometimes characterized policy-making towards sectors such as agriculture. Raising the productivity of independent smallholder farmers is a key policy lever in tackling this issue and requires a range of interventions, including research and development, the supply of agricultural inputs and improved access to credit services, transport links and markets. Agricultural cooperatives can make important contributions in this respect.