UN report says that education, social safety nets vital for Asia to grow rich, cope with aging
TOKYO (AP) — As economies in Asia and the Pacific slow and grow older, countries need to do more to ensure that workers get the education, training and social safety nets needed to raise incomes and ensure social equity, a United Nations report said Tuesday.
The report by the International Labor Organization said that growth in productivity has slowed, hurting incomes and undermining the purchasing power of the region’s 2 billion workers. By improving productivity, governments can boost incomes and better prepare for the aging of their work forces, the report said.
Two in three workers in the region were in informal employment in 2023, such as day labor, lacking the kinds of protections that come from formal jobs.
“The lack of job opportunities that meet decent work criteria, including good incomes, not only jeopardizes social justice in the region, but it also presents a risk factor for the labor market outlook,” the report said.