Jobs of Tomorrow: Social and Green Jobs for Building Inclusive and Sustainable Economies

The report identifies a significant gap, termed 'unmet need', in the workforce required to meet social and environmental targets by 2030 in 10 countries. It finds that 64 million additional social jobs and over 12 million additional green jobs are needed across these economies. The analysis highlights that the healthcare sector has the highest unmet need for social jobs, while the agricultural and forestry sector has the highest need for green jobs. South Africa is identified as having the greatest unmet need in both categories.

• Across the 10 studied countries, there is an unmet need for 64 million social jobs by 2030 to meet inclusion and social mobility goals, representing a 37% increase over current levels.
• The healthcare sector faces the largest deficit in social jobs, requiring an additional 33 million roles, followed by education (21 million) and care (10 million).
• Specific social occupations with the highest unmet needs include personal care workers in health services (18 million), childcare workers, teacher aides and early childhood teachers (12 million), and primary and secondary education teachers (9 million).
• To achieve environmental objectives, the 10 countries require over 12 million additional green jobs, a 66% increase over the current green workforce, which represents only 1% of total employment.
• The agricultural and forestry sector has the highest unmet need for green jobs at 11 million, while infrastructure, government, and energy sectors also show significant deficits.
• South Africa exhibits the most severe workforce gaps, requiring several times more social jobs than it currently possesses and having the greatest unmet need for green jobs alongside China, the United Kingdom, and Brazil.

APA

World Economic Forum (2023). Jobs of Tomorrow: Social and Green Jobs for Building Inclusive and Sustainable Economies. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Jobs_of_Tomorrow_2023.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. Jobs of Tomorrow: Social and Green Jobs for Building Inclusive and Sustainable Economies. 2023. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Jobs_of_Tomorrow_2023.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=Jobs of Tomorrow: Social and Green Jobs for Building Inclusive and Sustainable Economies |date=January 2023 |url=https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Jobs_of_Tomorrow_2023.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2023jobs, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{Jobs of Tomorrow: Social and Green Jobs for Building Inclusive and Sustainable Economies}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2023}, month = jan, url = {https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Jobs_of_Tomorrow_2023.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }