20 From Unsustainable Jobs to Sustainable Livelihoods
Stuart C. Carr
Great Unfreezing
First let us freeze-frame the world of work right before COVID-(20)19. It was not sustainable. Unemployment, always a scourge on human wellbeing, stood at 172 million people globally. By comparison, the number of people “in” work with access to a “job” and remunerated with a wage was far greater—at 3.3b globally (ILO, 2019a). This is 19 times greater than 172 m. However, most of the 3.3b were trapped in working poverty, with poor work conditions ranking as the world of work’s number one challenge (ILO, 2019b). Two-thirds worked informally—no proper job description, employment contract, protection in case of injury, regular hours, ...
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