Leaving no one behind the imperative of inclusive development

Who is being left behind? 71
The section also contains an examination of the impact of these gaps on the
prevalence of income poverty.
1. Labour market participation and employment opportunities
As discussed in chapter II, labour is the main and only productive resource
at hand for many people, particularly those living in poverty. There is little
point in denying the fact that access to decent and productive jobs is the
most effective means of reducing poverty and is a key foundation of social
inclusion. Yet labour market inequalities persist and are, in some cases,
growing. Indigenous peoples, members of other ethnic minorities and
international migrants, for instance, receive lower wages than the rest of
the population, as do women, who on average earn between 10 and 30 per
cent less than men when working full time (United Nations, 2015a; Hall and
Patrinos, 2012; OECD, 2015a). Youth unemployment is almost three times as
high as adult unemployment (ILO, 2016c). In the European Union, about 65
per cent of Roma aged 16 or older are currently unemployed or have been
without a regular paid job during the last five years, as compared with 29 per
cent of non-Roma living nearby (European Union Agency for Fundamental
Rights, 2012).
This section illustrates that such inequalities are not simply due to
differences in education and skills among workers. The labour market
continues to make socially driven distinctions based on ethnicity, race, caste,
sex, age and other personal attributes that should have no bearing on job
opportunities or workers’ competencies or ability.
The exclusion of youth from the labour market is of particular concern
because of its long-term effect on well-being as well as its impact on social
cohesion and stability. For every young person, a decent job is an important step
to completing the transition to adulthood and a milestone towards achieving
independence and self-reliance. According to ILO, which estimates that more
than 40 per cent of the world’s active youth are either unemployed or working
but living in poverty, the financial and economic crisis of 2008 has led to a
“lost generation” of young people who have lost all hope of being able to work
for a decent living. Not only do unemployment and underemployment affect
young people’s material, physical and mental well-being, they also hamper
their future economic opportunities. Research shows that joblessness among
youth is associated with lower wages and lower labour market participation
later in life (Székely and Karver, 2015; Bell and Blanchflower, 2011). It also
leaves marks in the form of young people’s distrust in the political, social and
economic systems. Protests and other expressions of social unrest have indeed
been particularly acute in countries and regions where youth unemployment
is widespread or has been rising quickly in the last decade (ILO, 2013a and
2016c). Specifically, since the 2008 crisis youth unemployment has been
stubbornly high in Western Asia and Northern Africa, particularly among