South Africa's garment industry is facing a growing labour shortage after anti-immigrant protests prompted many migrant workers to leave the country. Factory owners in Newcastle say they have lost up to 19% of their workforce, while manufacturers warn that replacing skilled employees will take years. With falling orders, labour shortages, and financial pressures mounting, some factories now fear closure despite the country's high unemployment rate.

South Africa's Garment Industry Faces Worker Shortage After Anti-Immigrant Protests

US hiring demand has slipped below pre-COVID-19 benchmark levels, signaling a stagnant labor market characterized by low hiring rates and cautious corporate strategies. Amid shifting economic policies, trade pressures, and the rising integration of automation and artificial intelligence, employers are prioritizing efficiency over expansion.


US hiring demand erodes below pre-COVID mark

The American job market is splitting in two, and the divide is widening fast. On one side there is the technology sector, where AI is wiping out jobs. And on the other side is the healthcare sector, which is expanding hiring.

US Labour Market Hits Historic Crossroads 

The US labour market delivered another upside surprise in may. Stock markets crashed following the news, with gold falling to 3-month low.


US Labour Market Defies Slowdown, FED on Edge

The United States has finally released its delayed September jobs report, more than six weeks late. The data shows hiring came in stronger than expected, but the unemployment rate still rose and previous months were revised weaker. This video breaks down the mixed signals and what they mean for the U.S. labor market and economic outlook.

Delayed Jobs Report Shows Mixed U.S. Labour Market 

Is the U.S. job market finally slowing down? August 2025's job report suggests a potential cooldown — just as President Trump’s abrupt firing of a key labor statistics official raises concerns about data credibility. WION breaks down the numbers, the political drama, and what it all means for holiday hiring and economic momentum going into Q4.

U.S. Jobs report: Labour market cooling? Trump’s firing sparks data integrity debate

The notion that interest-rate decisions will be made meeting by meeting. Based on incoming data has been emphasised by federal reserve chair Jerome Powell for the past several months. However, critics say this approach is creating volatility and weighing on the economy instead.

Is the Fed Right in Waiting for Data for Forward Guidance ?

The federal reserve is focusing more of its policy efforts on protecting the Labour market. The expectation that US Inflation likely eased at the end of the third quarter should reassure US Policymakers. US Inflation data is due this week, along with the minutes of the fed meeting in September, when the central bank cut rates by 0.5 percent.

FED & ECB Meeting Minutes in the Spotlight

Harvard University's&nbsp;Professor Claudia Goldin has been honoured with the Nobel Prize in Economics for 2023, as announced by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

This esteemed recognition, officially known as the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, was awarded to Goldin in acknowledgment of her extensive research contributions to the understanding of women's roles and outcomes in the labor market.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences commended Goldin's groundbreaking work, stating that she has significantly advanced the world's&nbsp;comprehension of women's labour market results.

Goldin becomes the 55th laureate of this prestigious award and only the third woman, after&nbsp;Elinor Ostrom&nbsp;in 2009 and Esther Duflo in 2019, to receive this honour since its establishment in 1969.

According to a Moneycontrol report, the Academy highlighted Goldin's remarkable contributions, emphasising her meticulous examination of historical data and the presentation of new and unexpected insights.

Her research, in the words of the Nobel committee,&nbsp;deepened our insights into the factors influencing women's opportunities in the labour market, particularly the impact of marriage and household responsibilities.

Goldin's studies underscore that change in labour market dynamics occurs gradually, as career choices are influenced by expectations that may evolve over time.

Her research has global relevance, with similar patterns observed in numerous countries, offering valuable insights into labour markets of the past, present, and future.

WATCH WION LIVE HERE

<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/live-tv/embed?autoplay=1&amp;mute=1" width="100%"></iframe>

Harvard University's Professor Claudia Goldin has been honoured with the Nobel Prize in Economics for 2023, as announced by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

Harvard University's Professor Claudia Goldin has been honoured with the Nobel Prize in Economics for 2023, as announced by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. This esteemed recognition, officially known as the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, was awarded to Goldin in acknowledgment of her extensive research contributions to the understanding of women's roles and outcomes in the labor market. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences commended Goldin's groundbreaking work, stating that she has significantly advanced the world's comprehension of women's labour market results. Goldin becomes the 55th laureate of this prestigious award and only the third woman, after Elinor Ostrom in 2009 and Esther Duflo in 2019, to receive this honour since its establishment in 1969. According to a Moneycontrol report, the Academy highlighted Goldin's remarkable contributions, emphasising her meticulous examination of historical data and the presentation of new and unexpected insights. Her research, in the words of the Nobel committee, deepened our insights into the factors influencing women's opportunities in the labour market, particularly the impact of marriage and household responsibilities. Goldin's studies underscore that change in labour market dynamics occurs gradually, as career choices are influenced by expectations that may evolve over time. Her research has global relevance, with similar patterns observed in numerous countries, offering valuable insights into labour markets of the past, present, and future. WATCH WION LIVE HERE

Claudia Goldin awarded Nobel Prize in economics for research on women's labour market impact

Megan Helsel, a kayaking wildlife specialist, has her dream job, and T'angelo Magee is making headway toward his, a commercial pilot. Both say work is central to their identity.

Megan Helsel, a kayaking wildlife specialist, has her dream job, and T'angelo Magee is making headway toward his, a commercial pilot. Both say work is central to their identity. Both are disabled. Americans with disabilities, physical and cognitive, in recent months have been joining the workforce at a faster pace than those without disabilities, according to data collected by organizations that work with the disabled. Labor Day on September 2 may be the first time the disabled regain an employment rate that was upended by the 2008 Great Recession. The gains are the result of both technological advances and workplace flexibility that lessens commuting barriers, according to experts on disabled workers. But the gains also reflect the pull of a tight labour market. With the US unemployment rate at just 3.7 per cent - roughly a half-century low - employers have increasingly considered job applicants they often overlooked in the first stages of what is now a record-long economic expansion. "The recent uptick is basically 'the full employment story' - it makes firms look at other populations they haven't previously considered," said Andrew Houtenville, economics associate professor at the University of New Hampshire. Helsel was working in her kayak on bird counts and other wildlife projects for the US Department of Agriculture in New Jersey in 2016 when a previously undetected tumour burst in her spine, leaving her paralyzed from the waist down. When her doctor broke the news about her sudden life-altering disability, Helsel's first question concerned returning to work. "He said, 'You're probably never going to walk again.' I asked, 'When am I going to be able to kayak again?'" recalled Helsel, 32. New technology has helped Helsel and other disabled people to get on an employer's payroll. Widely-used apps include Venmo, which allows mobility-challenged workers to easily bill customers, and iPhone's VoiceOver, which lets visually impaired workers conduct business. More specialized breakthroughs include an electronic-stimulating leg cuff Helsel wears instead of a bulkier brace that restricts her to wearing sneakers. The cuff enables her to don thermal boots needed to kayak through frigid winter waters. Recession Threat Helsel is among the roughly 15 million disabled Americans ages 16 to 64, which represents about 7 per cent of all working-age Americans, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Current Population Survey for July. Labour force participation for working-age disabled Americans increased 6.5 per cent in July from a year earlier, compared to a 0.3 per cent increase for working-age Americans without disabilities, according to national Trends in Disability Employment (nTIDE), a monthly report issued by the Kessler Foundation, a non-profit organization, and the University of New Hampshire's Institute on Disability. It is part of a two-year strengthening of the job market for disabled Americans, a rebound from the 2008 recession, which obliterated jobs for disabled workers at a faster rate than for those without disabilities, said John O'Neill, director of employment and disability research at Kessler Foundation. The employment rate for disabled workers was 32.7 per cent in 2008 and plunged to 24.1 per cent in 2014. While workers without disabilities also suffered job losses, they regained pre-recession employment rates by June 2017 and, maintaining momentum, their job numbers are higher than ever. Disabled workers have yet to reach that recovery milestone, although experts say it is now in sight. Slow and steady growth started in 2015 and boosted employment to 31.2 per cent last month, according to the most recent nTIDE report. By Labor Day, the rate could reach 32.7 per cent again, said Sarah Boege, a UNH policy analyst. Less clear, however, is whether that hard-won recovery can last through what some economists say is an impending recession. Despite the upswing in employment rates for disabled workers, some employers have outdated notions about disabled workers that create barriers to landing a job. Magee, a heavy equipment operator who was paralyzed from the chest down in a motorcycle accident, has gone on 26 job interviews in the past six months for such positions as an office administrator for a building complex and front desk receptionist for a law firm. "On the resume and phone interviews, it’s like I’m the perfect candidate. Then when I get there and they see I’m in the wheelchair, everything changes," said Magee, 32, who ended up starting his own mobile notary business in Hackensack, New Jersey. His career goal is to pilot small aircraft for commercial US travellers. The US Army veteran who is married with a 3-year-old daughter this year was trained in an aircraft with adaptive controls. He was among 10 students selected out of 27,000 applicants for the Able Flight program. Now he is searching for similar training to earn his commercial license. "In my wheelchair, I do a lot more than the average man on the street," Magee said. "I'm definitely going to do it."

Disabled workers chase 'dream jobs' in the tight US labour market

It is safe to say that the issue of job creation was among the top economic issues of 2017, along with demonetisation and GST. And as a long-term issue, its importance definitely exceeds the other two, which though severe are likely to be short-term shocks. Further, riding on the youth vote in 2014, the Narendra Modi government has consistently made jobs its central plank, ensuring that the issue always remains in the news.

&nbsp;

The year began with the question of whether demonetisation had negatively affected job growth, especially in the informal sector. Unfortunately, like most questions about demonetisation and its impact on the informal economy, this one too suffers from lack of data to answer it. The government has doggedly refused to address the question directly by failing to conduct the necessary surveys at a national level. But anecdotal evidence, as well as survey evidence from a few sectors, does indicate that the severe contraction in economic activity caused by demonetisation did eliminate informal jobs on a large-scale.

&nbsp;

The long-run question is, however, what it has always been. Can the Indian economy generate employment in the required numbers to provide gainful, meaningful work to the millions of youth who enter the labour market each year?&nbsp;

&nbsp;

On this, 2017 will be known more as a year of confusion and backpedaling on promises mixed with some welcome developments on the data front.

&nbsp;

A principal source of confusion has been the term &ldquo;jobless growth.&rdquo; Only last week two ex-policymakers argued that &ldquo;India&rsquo;s jobless growth is a myth.&rdquo; Citing Labour Bureau survey data, the authors pointed out that India&rsquo;s problem is not lack of jobs, but rather lack of &ldquo;regular, productive, and well-paid jobs.&rdquo; But this has always been the understanding among all observers of the Indian economy.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

As I have also consistently pointed out in this column, jobless growth was never about the absence of jobs, it was about the failure of the formal sector to generate decent jobs, forcing the vast majority to work in the informal sector. The question is, why has growth mostly created &ldquo;bad&rdquo; jobs. And how can it create more &ldquo;good&rdquo; jobs? So it is rather late in the game to be resorting to such denial techniques and using clickbait headlines to boot.

&nbsp;

Another source of confusion has been the lack of data. The most frequently used NSSO data has been available only every five years. India did not have a large-scale, high-frequency employment data collection system till 2010. The Labour Bureau experimented with annual surveys from 2010 to 2015, but these were not used much by academics or policy-makers for quality as well as availability reasons, and have now been discontinued.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Due to lack of reliable, high-frequency employment data, much poorly informed back and forth has been carried out in the op-ed pages. In mid-2017, a task-force was set up under then NITI Aayog Chairperson, Arvind Panagariya to prepare a report on how to improve the country&rsquo;s employment statistics system. Admitting that the debate &ldquo;has been taking place in the absence of accurate data or analysis&rdquo;, the report made recommendations to collect &ldquo;more reliable, timely and relevant labour market data&rdquo;.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

In this respect, a welcome development is that in 2017, the NSSO has started doing a Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS). This is an unprecedented (for India) continuous survey that will be conducted quarterly for urban areas and annually for rural and urban areas. So while 2017 passed with lack of adequate data to gauge what was happening to jobs, hopefully, 2018 will be different, creating the stage for an informed debate leading to the 2019 general election.

&nbsp;

The government&rsquo;s backpedalling on the jobs issue in 2017 has taken two forms. The first, after several weeks of bad press in mid-2017, BJP President Amit Shah issued a statement that it was not possible to provide formal sector jobs to everyone in a country of 125 crore people so self-employment was the answer. This was a clear admission of failure because it implied that the government did not think its policies were going to create formal jobs in the private sector in adequate numbers. Second, in order to make its performance in job creation seem better, the government proposed redefining what counts as a &ldquo;formal&rdquo; job. If we count all workers who are enrolled in some pension or provident fund scheme as &ldquo;formal&rdquo; then the picture looks better. While this may be understandable as a jobs accounting exercise, it hardly solves the actual problem of disguised unemployment plaguing millions.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

We need to get serious about three distinct issues with regard to the Indian labour market. First, the continued problem of bad, low-paying jobs and disguised unemployment, which is most of our labourforce. Second, the relatively new and fast-growing problem of open unemployment among the educated youth. As a proportion of the total labourforce,&nbsp; this is a small number, but it is a high visibility issue as seen in the large rallies taken out all across India for reservations in government jobs. Third, the question of a low and falling labour force participation rate. Compared to other developing countries, India has a much lower ratio of those employed or seeking work in the population aged 15 and above (53% compared to Indonesia&rsquo;s 66% or China&rsquo;s 69% and the world average of 62%). This is usually explained by withdrawal of women from the labour force due to prosperity or education. But it needs to be investigated further because &ldquo;discouraged workers&rdquo;, those who have given up looking for work, may be a part of the story as well.

&nbsp;

The final and potentially welcome development for this year is that the government is expected to announce a new National Employment Policy in the 2018 Union Budget. One hopes that such a policy will be adequately funded, and even more importantly will signal that the government places the interests of Indian workers before those of international investors or the global market.

&nbsp;

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL).

2017 will be known more as a year of confusion and backpedaling on promises of employment to the millions of youth who enter the labour market each year.

It is safe to say that the issue of job creation was among the top economic issues of 2017, along with demonetisation and GST. And as a long-term issue, its importance definitely exceeds the other two, which though severe are likely to be short-term shocks. Further, riding on the youth vote in 2014, the Narendra Modi government has consistently made jobs its central plank, ensuring that the issue always remains in the news. The year began with the question of whether demonetisation had negatively affected job growth, especially in the informal sector. Unfortunately, like most questions about demonetisation and its impact on the informal economy, this one too suffers from lack of data to answer it. The government has doggedly refused to address the question directly by failing to conduct the necessary surveys at a national level. But anecdotal evidence, as well as survey evidence from a few sectors, does indicate that the severe contraction in economic activity caused by demonetisation did eliminate informal jobs on a large-scale. The long-run question is, however, what it has always been. Can the Indian economy generate employment in the required numbers to provide gainful, meaningful work to the millions of youth who enter the labour market each year? On this, 2017 will be known more as a year of confusion and backpedaling on promises mixed with some welcome developments on the data front. A principal source of confusion has been the term “jobless growth.” Only last week two ex-policymakers argued that “India’s jobless growth is a myth.” Citing Labour Bureau survey data, the authors pointed out that India’s problem is not lack of jobs, but rather lack of “regular, productive, and well-paid jobs.” But this has always been the understanding among all observers of the Indian economy. As I have also consistently pointed out in this column, jobless growth was never about the absence of jobs, it was about the failure of the formal sector to generate decent jobs, forcing the vast majority to work in the informal sector. The question is, why has growth mostly created “bad” jobs. And how can it create more “good” jobs? So it is rather late in the game to be resorting to such denial techniques and using clickbait headlines to boot. Another source of confusion has been the lack of data. The most frequently used NSSO data has been available only every five years. India did not have a large-scale, high-frequency employment data collection system till 2010. The Labour Bureau experimented with annual surveys from 2010 to 2015, but these were not used much by academics or policy-makers for quality as well as availability reasons, and have now been discontinued. Due to lack of reliable, high-frequency employment data, much poorly informed back and forth has been carried out in the op-ed pages. In mid-2017, a task-force was set up under then NITI Aayog Chairperson, Arvind Panagariya to prepare a report on how to improve the country’s employment statistics system. Admitting that the debate “has been taking place in the absence of accurate data or analysis”, the report made recommendations to collect “more reliable, timely and relevant labour market data”. In this respect, a welcome development is that in 2017, the NSSO has started doing a Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS). This is an unprecedented (for India) continuous survey that will be conducted quarterly for urban areas and annually for rural and urban areas. So while 2017 passed with lack of adequate data to gauge what was happening to jobs, hopefully, 2018 will be different, creating the stage for an informed debate leading to the 2019 general election. The government’s backpedalling on the jobs issue in 2017 has taken two forms. The first, after several weeks of bad press in mid-2017, BJP President Amit Shah issued a statement that it was not possible to provide formal sector jobs to everyone in a country of 125 crore people so self-employment was the answer. This was a clear admission of failure because it implied that the government did not think its policies were going to create formal jobs in the private sector in adequate numbers. Second, in order to make its performance in job creation seem better, the government proposed redefining what counts as a “formal” job. If we count all workers who are enrolled in some pension or provident fund scheme as “formal” then the picture looks better. While this may be understandable as a jobs accounting exercise, it hardly solves the actual problem of disguised unemployment plaguing millions. We need to get serious about three distinct issues with regard to the Indian labour market. First, the continued problem of bad, low-paying jobs and disguised unemployment, which is most of our labourforce. Second, the relatively new and fast-growing problem of open unemployment among the educated youth. As a proportion of the total labourforce, this is a small number, but it is a high visibility issue as seen in the large rallies taken out all across India for reservations in government jobs. Third, the question of a low and falling labour force participation rate. Compared to other developing countries, India has a much lower ratio of those employed or seeking work in the population aged 15 and above (53% compared to Indonesia’s 66% or China’s 69% and the world average of 62%). This is usually explained by withdrawal of women from the labour force due to prosperity or education. But it needs to be investigated further because “discouraged workers”, those who have given up looking for work, may be a part of the story as well. The final and potentially welcome development for this year is that the government is expected to announce a new National Employment Policy in the 2018 Union Budget. One hopes that such a policy will be adequately funded, and even more importantly will signal that the government places the interests of Indian workers before those of international investors or the global market. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL).

Opinion: Did Demonetisation and GST create jobs in 2017?

labour-market

Labour Market, News on Labour Market, stories on Labour Market, articles on Labour Market, Labour Market stories at Wion, Labour Market news, Labour Market latest news