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Nearly 300 million workers worldwide continue to live in extreme poverty, despite stable global unemployment levels, the United Nations (UN) said on Wednesday.
The finding comes from a new report by the UN’s International Labour Organisation (ILO), which said many workers remain unable to earn enough to meet basic needs even as labour markets appear resilient.
According to the ILO’s Employment and Social Trends 2026 report, the global unemployment rate is expected to remain at 4.9 per cent in 2026, equivalent to about 186 million people without work.
However, the agency said progress toward decent and productive employment has stalled.
“Resilient growth and stable unemployment figures should not distract us from the deeper reality: hundreds of millions of workers remain trapped in poverty, informality, and exclusion,” ILO Director-General Gilbert F. Houngbo said.
The report said nearly 300 million workers earn less than $3 a day, the threshold for extreme poverty.
At the same time, informal employment is expanding, with about 2.1 billion workers expected to hold informal jobs by 2026, often without access to social protection, labour rights or job security.
“Nearly 300 million workers continue to live in extreme poverty, earning less than US$3 a day, while informality is rising, with 2.1 billion workers expected to hold informal jobs by 2026, with limited access to social protection, rights at work, and job security,” the report said.
The ILO said, “the acute lack of progress in low-income countries is pushing workers with the poorest employment conditions even further behind.”
The slowdown in economies’ transition to higher-value industries or services is a significant barrier to long-term improvements in job quality and productivity growth, according to the report, which provides data by region, income group, sex, and age.
Young people continue to face particular challenges, the report said. Youth unemployment reached 12.4 per cent in 2025, with about 260 million young people worldwide not in education, employment or training. In low-income countries, the share of young people in this category stands at 27.9 per cent.
The ILO warned that artificial intelligence and automation could add pressure, especially for educated young people in high-income countries seeking their first high-skill jobs. While the full impact remains uncertain, the agency said it requires close monitoring.
“While the full impact of AI on youth employment remains uncertain, its potential magnitude warrants close monitoring,” the report noted.
The report also noted persistent gender inequality. Women account for only two-fifths of global employment and are 24 per cent less likely than men to participate in the labour force. Gains in female labour force participation have slowed, limiting progress toward gender equality in the workplace.
