Global Agenda Council on Employment Unemployment: Rising to the Global Challenge

The World Economic Forum's Global Agenda Council on Employment warns that global unemployment is set to rise in 2014, with over 200 million people without work. The report emphasizes a symbiotic relationship where growth requires jobs and jobs require growth, arguing that persistent structural unemployment threatens social cohesion and political stability, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa. It calls for a combination of demand-side measures, such as green infrastructure investment and shifting taxes from employment to environmental 'bads', and supply-side measures, including high-quality apprenticeships and active labour market programmes. The Council specifically urges the G20 to coordinate macroeconomic policies to restore business and consumer confidence and to implement a 'Pact for Youth Employment' to prevent the long-term scarring effects of youth joblessness.

• Global unemployment is projected to increase in 2014, with the total number of unemployed people worldwide exceeding 200 million.
• Youth unemployment is particularly severe in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), where it is predicted to remain near 30% until 2017.
• In southern Europe, youth unemployment rates are extremely high, ranging between 33% and 50% for those eligible to work, while overall euro area unemployment is forecast to stay near 12% into 2015.
• Long-term unemployment creates a 'scarring effect' for youth, which increases the risk of future worklessness and reduces lifetime earnings, while also impacting physical and mental health.
• The report recommends shifting taxation away from employment and toward environmental 'bads' to encourage a more employment-intensive and sustainable economic recovery.
• Investment in strategic infrastructure, such as renewable energy, high-speed rail, and environmental retro-fitting, is proposed to improve long-term productive potential and create high-quality jobs.
• The Council advocates for the implementation of the European Union's Youth Guarantee programme, which aims to provide a job, apprenticeship, traineeship, or education to those under 25 within four months of becoming unemployed.
• To combat youth unemployment, the report suggests a 'Pact for Youth Employment' involving voluntary commitments from major businesses to recruit specific numbers of young people from unemployment registers.
• In the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, the report suggests moving away from blanket nationalization quotas toward a system that prioritizes specific jobs for nationals while keeping others open to expatriates to maintain competitiveness.
• The report highlights a divergence between economic growth and median wages in developed countries, noting the gap is most pronounced in the USA, Australia, and Canada.

APA

World Economic Forum (2014). Global Agenda Council on Employment Unemployment: Rising to the Global Challenge. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/GAC/2014/WEF_GAC_Employment_UnemploymentRisingGlobalChallange_Report_2014.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. Global Agenda Council on Employment Unemployment: Rising to the Global Challenge. 2014. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/GAC/2014/WEF_GAC_Employment_UnemploymentRisingGlobalChallange_Report_2014.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=Global Agenda Council on Employment Unemployment: Rising to the Global Challenge |date=January 2014 |url=http://www3.weforum.org/docs/GAC/2014/WEF_GAC_Employment_UnemploymentRisingGlobalChallange_Report_2014.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2014global, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{Global Agenda Council on Employment Unemployment: Rising to the Global Challenge}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2014}, month = jan, url = {http://www3.weforum.org/docs/GAC/2014/WEF_GAC_Employment_UnemploymentRisingGlobalChallange_Report_2014.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }