The 11th edition of the Labor World Monitoring Report released by the International Labour Organization on the 31st pointed out that global unemployment is expected to decline this year, but the prospects for employment recovery remain bleak. The report points out that the number of unemployed people worldwide is expected to drop to 191 million in 2023, equivalent to a global unemployment rate of 5.3%, lower than the pre pandemic level. However, estimates indicate that low-income countries are still far behind in the recovery process. The International Labour Organization predicts that low-income countries in Africa and the Arab region are unlikely to return to pre pandemic unemployment levels this year. The unemployment rate in North Africa is expected to be 11.2% in 2023 (10.9% in 2019); 6.3% in sub Saharan Africa (5.7% in 2019); The Arab countries accounted for 9.3% (compared to 8.7% in 2019). Other regions have successfully lowered their unemployment rates significantly below pre crisis levels, with 6.7% in Latin America and the Caribbean (8.0% in 2019), 6.3% in Northern, Southern, and Western Europe (7.0% in 2019), and 7.8% in Central and West Asia (9.2% in 2019). The report points out that although global unemployment has decreased, there are still challenges to the path of employment recovery, mainly manifested in the widening employment gap and rising debt levels. In terms of employment gap, the report states that low-income countries have the highest employment gap rate, reaching a staggering 21.5%, while middle-income countries have a gap rate slightly higher than 11%. The ratio in high-income countries is the lowest, at 8.2%. In addition, the report points out that low-income countries are the only income group with a long-term increase in employment gap rates, rising from 19.1% in 2005 to 21.5% in 2023. In terms of debt levels, the report states that for developing countries, the rising debt levels pose additional challenges, greatly narrowing the scope of policy intervention. Financial and fiscal constraints hinder the response to multiple crises, thereby exacerbating the employment gap. According to the report, low-income developing countries facing debt difficulties face a larger employment gap, which will reach 25.7% by 2023, while the proportion of developing countries with lower debt crisis risks is 11%. (New News Agency)