SESRIC prepared the OIC Labour Market Report 2020 as a technical background document for the 5^th Islamic Conference of Labour Ministers (ICLM). The report analyses the state of labour market and discuss some important aspects of labour market policy and developments in OIC countries. The 2020 edition of this report provides an update on the current state of labour market in OIC countries and a brief assessment on the progress made towards the implementation of the OIC Labour Market Strategy 2025 based on key performance indicators and survey responses. The report also provides selected best practises on the implementation of the strategy.

According to the main findings of the report, OIC countries have constantly increased their share in the world total labour force from 18.3% in 2010 to 20.3% in 2019. However, there are considerable challenges in providing decent job opportunities for the labour force. The total unemployment rate was on average 6.7% in OIC countries, 5.1% in non-OIC developing countries and 4.8% in developed countries. Youth population faces particular challenges in labour markets. As of 2019, youth unemployment in OIC countries is estimated to reach 14.5%. Moreover, 25.8% of youth are estimated to be in not in employment, education or training (NEET) status in OIC countries.

Overall, the report reveals that labour force participation rate, employment to population ratio, the share of labour force with tertiary education are lower, but female unemployment rate, the share of vulnerable employment, the share of employment in agriculture, inactivity rate, and share of labour force primary education are higher in OIC countries compared to other developing and developed countries. On the other hand, the OIC member countries have also witnessed substantial improvements in the functioning of their labour markets as the shares of vulnerable employment and working poor have decreased from 55.1% to 50.7% and 41.8% to 30.6%, respectively, during the period 2010-2019. However, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is expected to jeopardize the hardly achieved gains towards improving the labour market situation in OIC member countries and put the policymakers in a more challenging situation. It is estimated that an additional 8 million people may lose their jobs in the OIC countries until the end of 2020.

The report also provides a detailed analysis of the implementation of the OIC Labour Market Strategy 2025 based on the results of a survey conducted by SESRIC. Assessment of key performance indicators (KPIs) reveals that while some progress has been made in reducing the working poverty rate, improving productivity and skills levels, indicators on participation to labour market, unemployment, youth unemployment and the gender gap in labour market participation could not be improved. Based on the response to SESRIC survey from 20 OIC countries, 32% of all actions recommended in the strategy document were completed, 38% were initiated but not completed and 30% were not initiated yet.

At the end, the report provides a section on best practices in different thematic areas of the OIC Labour Market Strategy to enhance the intra-OIC cooperation and facilitate the exchange of knowledge and expertise among the OIC member countries in addressing some common labour market challenges. This edition includes 17 case studies on best practices and lessons learnt from 9 OIC member countries, namely Azerbaijan, Cameroon, Djibouti, Malaysia, Nigeria, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

Online Electronic Version

OIC Labour Market Report 2020 (English) (Arabic) (French)