Employment trends
In recent years employment growth has slowed in
ASEAN. In 2012, employment grew by 1.9 per
cent, and in 2013 by only 1.5 per cent – on par
with the global rate of 1.4 per cent.18 This is notably
faster than in East Asia, where growth in total
employment was 0.8 per cent in 2012 and 0.7 per
cent in 2013, but lower than in Latin America and
the Caribbean, where it was 2.3 per cent in 2012
and 1.8 per cent in 2013.
ASEAN has also seen a decline in its
18 ILO: Trends Econometric Models, Jan. 2014.
unemployment rate from 4.7 per cent in 2010 to
4.2 per cent in 2013 – in line with other Asian
subregions, and lower than the global rate of six per
cent. However, the situation is more concerning
for young women and men (Figure 1-3). ASEAN’s
youth unemployment rate in 2013 was 13.1 per
cent and higher in some larger economies – 21.6
per cent in Indonesia, for example, and 16.6 per
cent in the Philippines. Although ASEAN’s youth
unemployment rate is similar to the global rate, it
is higher than those in East Asia and South Asia
(roughly ten per cent). High youth unemployment
imposes social and economic costs and results in the
loss of opportunities for economic growth.19
For those able to find employment, a major
concern is poor job quality. Vulnerable employment,
defined as own-account and contributing family
workers, often entails less formal arrangements and inadequate working conditions and social protection.
Their prevalence is associated with higher
poverty, and therefore reducing vulnerable employment
is critical towards achieving the Millennium
Development Goals (Box 1-2). According to the
most recent data, 58.8 per cent of ASEAN workers
(179 million) were in vulnerable employment,
compared to 48.0 per cent of the world’s workers.20
The significantly higher proportion of vulnerable
employment in ASEAN is marked by gender
differences. In seven of the eight ASEAN Member
States for which there are available data, the share of
women vulnerably employed surpasses that of men
(Figure 1-4). Vulnerable employment in ASEAN
may be explained by difficulties in transitioning
from informal to formal employment. In Indonesia,
Philippines and Viet Nam, approximately seven
in ten non-agricultural workers are informally
employed and lack basic social or legal protection
20 ILO: Trends Econometric Models, Jan. 2014.
and employment benefits.21
Low-quality employment is linked to low earnings;
hence, a considerable number of workers still
earn too little to escape poverty. Approximately 92
million ASEAN workers live on less than $2 per
day – 30.3 per cent of all workers.22 By comparison,
the global rate is 26.7 per cent of total employment
and in East Asia it is only 11.2 per cent, though
it is much higher in South Asia at 61.5 per cent.
Enhancing the quality of employment requires
not only sound national policies but also stronger
regional cooperation efforts (Box 1-3).