186m may remain jobless in 2026 as ILO warns of AI threat to job market

By : Gloria Nwafor

Date: 15 January 2026 4:45am WAT

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ILO Director-General, Gilbert Houngbo

ILO Director-General, Gilbert Houngbo

International Labour Organisation (ILO) has warned that despite resilient growth, progress toward decent work has stalled, stating that about186 million persons globally are expected to remain jobless in 2026.

In an Employment and Social Trends 2026 report, released yesterday, the labour organisation stated that the global unemployment rate was projected to stay at 4.9 per cent in 2026, warning that young people would continue to struggle, while artificial intelligence and trade policy uncertainty risk would undermine the job market.

The report examined the state of global labour markets, highlighting stable headline employment alongside stalled progress in job quality and widening inequalities, analysing productivity, demographic and economic pressures shaping work in the year ahead, and outlined the challenges to achieving more inclusive growth.

According to the report, nearly 300 million workers continue to live in extreme poverty, earning less than $3 a day, while informality is rising, with 2.1 billion workers expected to hold informal jobs by 2026.

ILO Director-General Gilbert Houngbo, however, advised that resilient growth and stable unemployment figures should not distract economies from the deeper reality, even as he stated that hundreds of millions of workers remain trapped in poverty, informality, and exclusion.

He said the acute lack of progress in low-income countries was pushing workers with the poorest employment conditions even further behind.

Houngbo underscored the need for coordinated action and stronger institutions to advance decent work and social justice, particularly in poorer economies that risk being left behind as supply chains and digital trade expand.

The ILO boss recommended the implementation of productivity-enhancing policies such as investment in skills, education, and infrastructure.

He expressed the need to address gender and youth gaps by tackling barriers to participation and harnessing technology responsibly.

The report also called for strengthening trade and decent work outcomes so all regions benefit from global flows, mitigating risks from debt, AI, and trade uncertainty through coordinated global and domestic policies.

On youth and artificial intelligence (AI) risks, the study said that young people would continue to struggle, stating that youth unemployment climbed to 12.4 per cent in 2025, with around 260 million young people not in education, employment or training (NEET).

It stated that in low-income countries, NEET rates were a daunting 27.9 per cent.

To this end, the ILO warned that artificial intelligence and automation could exacerbate challenges, particularly for educated youth in high-income countries seeking their first job in high-skilled occupations.

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