Deep dive on world employment trends and business demographics

To expand on a previous newsletter about global channel firmographics, here is the Canalys view on global employment and demographics.

Employment remained resilient in 2023, despite economic growth moderating in most?countries.?This continued the trend from 2022. But initial forecasts for 2024?predict?global unemployment will start to rise in line with weakening economic growth.

Layoffs in the automotive and tech sectors have already gathered pace, though tech companies recruited heavily during the pandemic, while more cyclically sensitive sectors of the economy are reportedly pulling back on adding workers to their payrolls.?

Highlights:

• Worldwide labor force participation stands at 51.3% of the world’s population.
• 1.63 billion people are employed by 138.6 million businesses (that employ at least one person). A further 2.2 billion people are either self-employed or part of the informal sector.
• North America has the highest average number of employees per business, with large enterprises employing 57.3% of workers.
• Large businesses (500+ employees) in the United States, UK, South Korea, the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Hong Kong, Sweden and Japan account for more than 40% of employed workers.
• State-owned enterprises still account for a significant proportion of large businesses in China, Brazil, Russia and India, as well as parts of Eastern Europe, ASEAN, the Middle East and Africa.

Employment will continue to be disrupted over the next three years, with the emergence of generative AI boosting productivity and potentially replacing some jobs, though new roles will also emerge. The decline of remote-only working, increased inclusion as part of broader DEI initiatives and disruption from climate change will also be key trends.

Reskilling existing workers and expanding recruitment coverage will be critical as skills shortages persist.