The ILO and the G7

The G7 is an informal grouping of seven of the world’s advanced economies, including Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union.

It serves as a forum to coordinate global policy. The G7 plays an important role in defining and strengthening governance on international economic and policy issues.

ILO's role at the G7

The ILO provides technical inputs and support to the G7 on policies that advance social justice and promote decent work. The ILO conducts analysis and provides policy recommendations on labour, economic and social issues to embed ILO policies in multilateral processes. It acts as a knowledge partner to the Employment Working Group.

It is essential to increase labour force participation of women, youth, people with disabilities and older workers. It is essential also to facilitate workers’ transitions to new sectors or occupations. Jointly we can contribute to reducing the global jobs gap, strengthening the quality of employment, and protecting real incomes.
ILO Director-General, Gilbert F. Houngbo

Facts & Figures

The labour force participation rate in G7 countries remains in 2024 according to ILO estimates stable at ca. 60 per cent.
Since its peak during the COVID-19 Pandemic, the unemployment rate has decreased from 20.6 per cent in 2021 to 17.3 per cent in 2024.
The past three years generated ca. 10 billion new full-time jobs - from which men and women benefitted equally.
However, G7 economies are rapidly ageing, with the working age population (ages 20-64) projected to decline by 35 per cent for Italy, 33 per cent for Japan, 23 per cent for Germany, 9 per cent for France and 3 per cent for the United Kingdom by 2026. Only the U.S.A. and Canada observe a projected increase of respectively 5 and 12 per cent.

Source: ILOSTAT, February 2024, more information: https://ilostat.ilo.org

ILO and the 2024 G7 Presidency and the Employment Working Group

Italy holds for the 7th time the G7 Presidency.

Priorities of the Italian Presidency comprise (1) the defence of the rules-based international system, (2) migration, (3) the climate-energy nexus, (4) food security, (5) AI along with (6) a cooperation model based on mutually beneficial and equal partnerships. The geographic spotlight is on the Indo-Pacific and the African regions.

The Italian Presidency has set three priorities for the Employment Working Group:

Harnessing the potential of a human-centred ethical use of Artificial Intelligence on labour markets and societies
Strategies and policies for resilient labour markets in ageing societies
Changing skills needs - making training policies more inclusive