GlobalWorkplaceReport_2013

In 2012, the global P2P figure was at 26%, down slightly
from 27% in 2011. This decline reverses the upward trend
in P2P since the height of the global recession in 2009.
The small and medium-sized enterprises
(SMEs) that provide the bulk of employment
in most of the developed world are far less
common in developing economies. This helps
explain why the percentage working for an
employer is so low in regions like sub-Saharan
Africa and South Asia. MENA’s relatively
low P2P rate is largely attributable to the high
proportion of residents (56% in 2012) who do
not participate in the workforce. Many people
in the MENA region, especially women,
voluntarily choose not to work. Young
people also tend to be more likely to be out
of the workforce than their counterparts in
other regions, underscoring the job creation
challenge facing many MENA leaders.
Global Payroll to Population Employment
Rates, by Region
% of the population employed full time for an employer
2012
GLOBAL 26%
Northern America 42%
Europe — Other 40%
Commonwealth of Independent States 38%
European Union 33%
Latin America and the Caribbean 31%
Balkans 29%
East Asia 28%
South Asia 23%
Though a county’s P2P employment rate bears
a strong relationship to its overall economic
output (GDP), P2P is far less predictive of
Southeast Asia
Middle East and North Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa
21%
18%
11%
workers’ life quality ratings, particularly in
Among adults aged 15 and older; non-Arab expats were excluded from the
developing regions. Among sub-Saharan
sample in Arab Gulf countries
Africans participating in their countries’ labor
force, for example, 15% of those who work
full time for an employer give life ratings high enough to consider them “thriving,” vs. 11% of those who do not work full
time for an employer. Employees’ engagement levels are much more highly related to life evaluations and other indicators of
life quality; across sub-Saharan Africa, 29% of engaged workers are thriving vs. 8% of actively disengaged workers.
Bottom Line
As many countries are still struggling to recover from the global recession, the decline in P2P in 2012 is an unfortunate
reversal of the growth seen in 2010 and 2011. Developing countries must strive to create formal job opportunities with
desirable working conditions, which will in turn reduce the need for informal subsistence jobs. Developed countries
must maintain or grow P2P rates to guarantee residents decent work opportunities and continued economic prosperity
and social programs. Further, as more residents come to work full time for employers, an understanding of workplace
conditions that promote their productivity and well-being — i.e., that engage them in their jobs — will become
increasingly important to economic development.
28 PAYROLL TO POPULATION: A NEW MEASURE OF ECONOMIC ENERGY