SDG targets not on track

In its newly-released World Employment and Social Outlook: September 2024 Update, the International Labour Organization (ILO) finds upward pressure on inequality as the labour income share stagnates and a large share of youth remains out of employment, education or training. The report indicates slow progress on key Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as the 2030 deadline approaches.

The study reveals that the global labour income share, which represents the portion of total income earned by workers, fell by 0.6 percentage points from 2019 to 2022 and has since remained flat – compounding a long-running downward trend. If the share had remained at the same level as in 2004, labour income would be larger by US$2.4 trillion in 2024 alone.

The study highlights the COVID-19 pandemic as a key driver of this decline, with nearly 40 per cent of the reduction in the labour income share occurring during the pandemic years of 2020-2022. The crisis exacerbated existing inequalities, particularly as capital income continues to concentrate among the wealthiest, undermining progress towards SDG 10, which aims to reduce inequality within and among countries.