GOAL 8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
- 8.1 Sustain per capita economic growth in accordance with national circumstances and, in particular, at least 7 per cent gross domestic product growth per annum in the least developed countries
- 8.2 Achieve higher levels of economic productivity through diversification, technological upgrading and innovation, including through a focus on high-value added and labour-intensive sectors
- 8.3 Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and encourage the formalization and growth of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, including through access to financial services
- 8.4 Improve progressively, through 2030, global resource efficiency in consumption and production and endeavour to decouple economic growth from environmental degradation, in accordance with the 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production, with developed countries taking the lead
- 8.5 By 2030, achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value
- 8.6 By 2020, substantially reduce the proportion of youth not in employment, education or training 8.7 Take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, including recruitment and use of child soldiers, and by 2025 end child labour in all its forms
- 8.8 Protect labour rights and promote safe and secure working environments for all workers, including migrant workers, in particular women migrants, and those in precarious employment
- 8.9 By 2030, devise and implement policies to promote sustainable tourism that creates jobs and promotes local culture and products
- 8.10 Strengthen the capacity of domestic financial institutions to encourage and expand access to banking, insurance and financial services for all
- 8.a Increase Aid for Trade support for developing countries, in particular least developed countries, including through the Enhanced Integrated Framework for Trade-related Technical Assistance to Least Developed Countries
- 8.b By 2020, develop and operationalize a global strategy for youth employment and implement the Global Jobs Pact of the International Labour Organization
SDG Progress and Industry Notes
Progress
The 2018 Report of the Secretary-General on Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals, notes that “Although, globally, labour productivity has increased and the unemployment rate has decreased, more progress is needed to increase employment opportunities especially for young people, reduce informal employment and labour market inequalities (particularly in terms of the gender pay gap), promote safe and secure working environments and improve access to financial services to ensure sustained and inclusive economic growth.”
SDG 8 will be reviewed at the 2019 HLPF.
Industry Notes
According to a World Bank blog post, “Apparel is one of the first manufacturing sectors to emerge in poor countries, often providing jobs to low-skilled (mostly female) workers that have few paid employment alternatives. Although salaries are low by international standards, apparel workers tend to make more money than they would in other activities—low-skill agriculture and services—in the domestic market. So for millions of poor, unskilled workers, textile manufacturing is a gateway to start getting out of poverty. The fact that apparel workers are mostly women is another strong link to poverty reduction, as boosting economic opportunities for women is a necessary step to poverty reduction and development.” Otaviano Canuto, World Bank Blog
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But this is not the whole story. As it is argued in “The Promise and Peril of Post-MFA Apparel Production,” the latest issue of the World Bank’s Economic Premise notes series, a radical shift in apparel production between countries over the last few years has had mixed results in wages and poverty reduction across the developing world.”
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“Minimum Wage in the Apparel Industry Continues to Rise in Most Asian Countries in 2016”
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