[Title] G20 Labour and Employment Ministers' Conclusions

1. Since our last meeting in Paris in September 2011, the global economy has shown a modest recovery. Nonetheless, in most countries, this moderate growth is not reflected in employment rates, which have not yet returned to pre-crisis levels. In some of our countries, the rate of unemployment and the number of people in informal and precarious jobs continues to require ongoing attention. According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), there is still a global deficit of around 50 million compared to the situation before 2008.

2. As stated by our Leaders in Cannes, “employment must be at the heart of the actions and policies to restore growth and confidence that we undertake under the Framework for strong, sustainable and balanced growth.” In Pittsburgh, they agreed to put quality jobs at the heart of the recovery. We fully reaffirm that commitment and we emphasize that the creation of quality employment is more crucial than ever.

3. At the meetings in Washington, D.C., in April 2010, and Paris in September 2011, we agreed on the importance of promoting policy actions that allow overcoming the social and employment effects of the crisis. In Paris, we stressed the importance of improving active employment policies, particularly for youth and other vulnerable groups; strengthening social protection by establishing nationally determined social protection floors; promoting effective application of social and labour rights; and strengthening the coherence of economic and social policies. These objectives, which are mutually reinforcing, remain high priorities as they are the basis for promoting a strong, sustainable and balanced growth.

4. One of our main concerns is the creation of quality jobs. Quality employment can contribute to a more stable growth that helps individuals overcome poverty and become more socially included, as well as improving income distribution. Governments, workers and employers acting together through social dialogue can make an essential contribution to these goals.

5. Promoting quality employment is one of the major challenges facing G20 economies. The complex labour market situation in most of our economies has severely impacted some segments of the population, particularly youth and other vulnerable groups. Unemployment rates among young women and men are twice the overall unemployment rate and in some countries even higher. The sense of urgency was shared during our meeting in Paris in September 2011 and confirmed by our Leaders in Cannes who agreed to create a G20 intergovernmental Task Force on Employment, which, since its inception in December 2011, has been identifying strategies for youth employment based on best practices and policy responses.

6. Finding ways out of the jobs crisis requires us to identify innovative initiatives, particularly in growing areas. We should explore the potential of green growth, in the context of sustainable development, as a means to foster the creation of quality jobs, inclusive economic growth and the sustainable use of natural resources. 7. In our meeting in Guadalajara, we discussed policies to create quality employment, successful strategies to promote youth employment and options to generate jobs linked to green growth. Even though many challenges are shared among countries, the priorities for action must reflect different national contexts and realities. From our dialogue, we present the following conclusions:

I. Creation of quality employment and decent work

8. The crisis has had diverse effects for the G20 economies. Our role as Labour and Employment Ministers responding to the crisis is crucial to promote the creation of more quality jobs within the formal sector, with decent wages and social security coverage. Our role is also to protect workers' rights while fostering policies and programmes that allow workers to acquire the skills required in the labour market to give them access to employment opportunities.

9. Decent work expresses the hopes of our populations for a better future and plays a significant role in improving their living standards. Creating the conditions to provide those who enter the labour market with decent work will lay the foundations of a more equal society in which people better share the benefits of globalisation. Therefore, we reaffirm our commitment to continue encouraging employment, social protection, social dialogue and full respect of the fundamental principles and rights at work.

10. As Ministers, we shall continue supporting and implementing policies that foster job opportunities, provide training, enhance skills and increase employability. These activities lead to greater productivity thereby contributing to strengthening economic development, attracting investment and increasing social cohesion.

11. Promoting equal opportunities in the labour market is a key pillar for shared growth and development. Therefore, we will continue to promote policies that increase people's employability, match skills with market needs, improve public employment services, integrate gender perspectives in policies and programmes, and fight any kind of discrimination in workplaces.

12. Social protection systems play an important role as automatic stabilisers in the crisis. At the meeting in Paris, we agreed to develop “nationally defined social protection floors with a view to achieving strong, sustainable and balanced economic growth and social cohesion.” In this sense, and within our responsibilities and resources, we will contribute to developing policies that improve our social security systems, to reach an appropriate balance between efficient active labour market measures and effective social protection. We will also encourage better cooperation with the G20 Development Working Group to assist developing countries in capacity building for implementing nationally determined social protection floors. In this perspective we welcome the efforts of coordination, cooperation and knowledge sharing among international organizations, which are in line with our conclusions in Paris. In consequence of our recommendations made in Paris, we welcome the cooperation that has taken place between ILO and IMF, in collaboration with other international organisations, on sustainability of social protection floors and encourage its continuation. We look forward to the possible adoption of an ILO recommendation on social protection floors during the upcoming International Labour Conference in June 2012.

13. In view of the large share of employment in informal activities in some of our countries and the consequent low productivity and quality of employment, we should design and implement policies directed at increasing participation in the formal labour market. We should also devise ways to improve the conditions of workers in the informal sector. Those countries should make social protection policies more effective, while expanding their coverage to include previously excluded workers, particularly those in the informal economy. These measures should also help transition from the informal to the formal sector.

14. As our Leaders pointed out in Cannes, “actions to address immediate risks to recovery must be complemented by sustained, broad-based reforms to boost confidence, raise global output and create jobs.” Structural reforms should maintain employment as a priority, especially for youth and other vulnerable groups. These should also be a mechanism to promote gradual access from the informal to the formal labour market, that is, jobs with social security and fair and dignified income. They should also be based upon increasing the efficient functioning of labour market institutions. Structural reforms should contribute to tackling labour market segmentation and the informal sector. They can also promote the increase of production and income.

15. The implementation of structural reforms must not affect core workers' rights and must ensure full respect for the Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work as set out in the 1998 ILO Declaration. In this sense, we reaffirm our commitment to respect, promote and realize those principles. In addition, we support the 2008 Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalisation and the Global Jobs Pact.

16. It is necessary to continue promoting coherence between social, economic, financial, environmental and all other policies at the national and international levels, so that they are efficient and have an impact on the creation of quality employment. It is also important to strengthen coherence among international organisations. In this regard, we reiterate our support for the consultation of multilateral organisations with an employment and social mandate, when appropriate, to assess the social impact of economic policies advocated by other international organisations. We welcome the development of multilateral cooperation, including South-South cooperation, to assist countries that request it to tackle multifaceted problems.

17. We welcome the contribution and input of worker and employer organisations to the G20 Labour and Employment process. As stated in the ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalisation, social dialogue within and across borders is relevant to achieving solutions and building up social cohesion and the rule of law. In this regard, we will continue holding regular consultations with our social partners as part of the process of the G20 Employment and Labour Ministers' Meetings.

II. Promotion of Youth Employment

18. In the current economic context, young people are at very high risk of remaining unemployed or underemployed for long periods. The longer they remain in this situation, the harder it is for them to find a job, acquire or retain skills. This could have a longlasting effect on our youth, potentially undermining their ability to fully integrate into the economy and thereby affecting both the individual and our societies. Given the importance of these issues, we will renew our efforts to address them.

19. We agree to strengthen our commitment to our youth by promoting the improvement of employability, equal opportunities, entrepreneurship and job creation for youth, providing them with skills and training matching labour market needs. We will strengthen, as appropriate, social protection mechanisms combined with active labour market policies to assist youth.

20. We acknowledge the work of the G20 Task Force on Employment in sharing our experiences and identifying suitable policy actions on youth employment. We will take its recommendations (see annex) into account in our policy development, adapting them according to our national circumstances and needs. We will particularly:

• Intensify our national efforts on tackling youth unemployment, where necessary, on one or more measures from a body of policy orientations and common experiences seen in the G20 Task Force on Employment.

• Promote, and when necessary, strengthen quality apprenticeship systems that ensure high level of instruction and adequate remuneration and avoid taking advantage of lower salaries.

• Consider programmes that have proven effective in allowing a successful

school-to-work transition.

• Promote internships, on-the-job training, apprenticeships and professional experience.

• Foster sharing of experience in the design and implementation of apprenticeship programmes and explore ways to identify common principles across the G20 countries by facilitating a dialogue among our social partners who have presented us a shared sense of the importance of apprenticeships.

• Continue to cooperate with other Ministries and other stakeholders, where appropriate, to provide career guidance, education and to facilitate skills acquisition with a strong focus on developing work experience and promoting decent work.

• Support youth entrepreneurship, which might include the provision of advice, financial support, mentoring and the facilitation of mobility of young entrepreneurs.

• Explore voluntary technical cooperation programmes based on best practices that can be conducted by G20 countries in conjunction with countries seeking to address youth employment. These may be conducted on a bilateral basis, and where appropriate, together with international organisations.

• Request, as appropriate, that the ILO, OECD, and other international organisations work with our national institutions, taking into account our specific contexts and diversity, to analyse qualitative and quantitative data to better understand the situation of young people in G20 countries and inform policy development.

• Work with the ILO, OECD, other international organisations, and social partners to support the implementation of our national initiatives for youth employment.

III. Inclusive green growth as quality employment generator, in the context of sustainable development

21. Transition to greener economies, in the context of sustainable development, may open opportunities to reduce social inequalities and generate decent work. The transformation to new technologies will lead to the creation of new occupations and may change skills requirements for existing jobs. A successful and fair transition to these new technologies will require better labour market information, the adaptation of training systems and new ways to improve the skills of workers, according to national realities and contexts. Hence, high-level cooperation among Ministries, across different levels of government and agencies and with social partners is needed to foster the creation of quality employment linked to inclusive green growth, harmonizing it with economic policy.

22. Active labour market policies should react to the changing labour market by providing access to effective job search services, adequate labour market information and training opportunities. Public employment services and other partners should play an important role by linking supply and demand, disseminating information on training opportunities, and providing an overview of the skills required to help workers benefit from green growth. An equitable transition that provides decent work, with a particular emphasis on occupational health and safety, for those who might be affected by measures resulting from efforts to implement green growth, should be considered.

23. Governments should encourage firms to adapt their productive and organisational processes to meet the needs of inclusive green growth. Particular attention is needed to ensure that small and medium enterprises, as the most important source of new and existing jobs, are part of green growth, by training and up-skilling processes of their workers, among other actions. Where appropriate, transfer of green technology in proper ways could be considered among companies as well as countries.

24. Green growth should be inclusive and contribute to poverty eradication and sustainable development. Social dialogue should contribute to promoting the greening of workplaces, work organisations and production methods.

25. We look forward to the results of the forthcoming United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development Rio+20, encouraging long-term sustainable development and the creation of quality jobs, especially for youth and other vulnerable groups.

IV. The way forward

26. We will present to the consideration of our Leaders the proposals and initiatives contained in these Conclusions. In summary, we believe that economic growth should be based on quality employment, that is, jobs in the formal sector, with social security, dignified income and full protection of labour rights. Particularly, we emphasize the need to promote policies that generate employment for youth and other vulnerable groups, and facilitate the school-to-work transition to ensure the long-term sustainability of our economies. We agree that inclusive green growth, in the context of sustainable development, may be a source of job creation, decent work and will require policies to facilitate the acquisition of new skills. Finally, we agree that quality employment contributes to poverty reduction and social inclusion.

27. We reaffirm the importance of policy coherence between growth and employment, and between macroeconomic and employment policies at the national and international levels. Therefore, we recommend our Leaders strengthen the cooperation between G20 Finance and Labour and Employment Ministers on the links between growth and employment. In this regard, we welcome the upcoming report from international organisations on how the G20 Framework for Strong, Sustainable and Balanced Growth can contribute to job creation.

28. We will ask our Leaders to take note that the current implications of high youth unemployment go beyond the immediate circumstance of youth: the current high levels of youth unemployment and underemployment in many countries impact the sustainability of our nationally determined social protection floors, and affect the speed of skill acquisition needed to sustain high productivity-led growth.

29. We will bring our Leaders' attention to the work accomplished by the G20 Task Force on Employment, namely with respect to the sharing of best practices, measures to improve the skills required to meet the needs of the labour market, the importance of adequate orientation tools for youth, and ideas to enhance nationally determined social protection floors.

30. Given the contribution made by the G20 Task Force on Employment in the last semester, we instruct it to continue exploring issues related to youth employment as it finalizes its present mandate in November 2012. We also instruct it to update its findings and the forum on best practices. We recommend that our Leaders support its extension for one more year, and consider that its focus should be decided under the leadership of the Russian Presidency in order to provide input for the Ministerial meeting to be held in 2013.

31. We appreciate the work done by the ILO and the OECD, with inputs from other international organizations, with respect to the links between the G20 Framework for strong, sustainable and balanced growth and job creation. In addition, we recognize the valuable assistance that the ILO and the OECD provided in the preparation of our meeting and invite them to continue their support for our work.

32. We acknowledge the importance of inclusive, diverse and constructive social dialogue during the Mexican Presidency of the G20. In this regard, we welcome the meetings of L20 and B20 that are taking place in 2012.

33. We also agree to hold our next meeting in 2013 under the Presidency of the Russian Federation. We thank the Mexican Presidency for its leadership and guidance. We welcome this, and we look forward to working constructively with Russia.

Task Force conclusions of the G20 Strategies on Youth Employment

a) The implications of the current youth unemployment crisis on labour and economic policies

While many of the problems currently faced by youth in G20 labour markets have longstanding roots, many have worsened since the beginning of the global financial crisis. In some cases, young women and men are now facing the risk of long-lasting scarring effects. The combination of poor economic prospects and long-term structural difficulties can be discouraging, dissuading them from furthering their education or looking for work. Policy makers need to pay not only adequate attention towards addressing the causes of youth unemployment in the country's economy, but generate an information and analysis system that allow youth to take appropriate decisions according to the labour market trends.

Young people must be given the means to seize opportunities. The adequate qualifications, skills and guidance to young people are not the only conditions to overcome the obstacles to labour market entry and ensure a smooth transition from education to employment.

The key longer term policy challenge in supporting young people –whether relatively skilled, low-skilled or un-skilled-- is to develop a well functioning labour market that provides plenty opportunities for them to find work or undertake further education and training. Labour market policy can and should play an important role in addition to the efforts of other policy fields. Alone, it cannot resolve structural labour market problems but can improve the individual pre-requisite of young people. This task involves pursuing a multi-faceted strategy involving:

Pursuing macro-economic policies consistent with achieving sustainable economic and employment growth.

Providing support and assistance that enhances the long-term employability and labour market attachment of young people.

Helping youth to find work or to re-engage with education or training in order to gain the skills needed for successful long-term participation in the labour market.

b) Identification of key findings to be considered by Labour Ministers

When they met in Paris in September 2011, the G20 Labour and Employment Ministers decided to set up a Task Force on Employment for one year, which will report to them, with the mandate to address, as a first key topic, the issue of youth unemployment. In the Cannes Summit final declaration, the Leaders said the Task Force will provide input to the G20 Labour and Employment Ministerial Meeting to be held under the Mexican Presidency in 2012.

The Task Force presents the Labour and Employment Ministers the following analysis and recommendations. It should be noted that this is a menu of policies and measures that could be explored and adapted according to national circumstances:

1. Well-functioning labour markets that produce high levels of employment and decent work, especially for youth, directly promote sustainable economic growth and contribute to social stability.Specifically, quality employment for youth diminishes their reliance on family support and social protection programmes and has a long-term impact on labour markets that can significantly affect potential output and address global economic imbalances. Therefore:

• In the G20 context, Labour and Employment Ministers should emphasise policy coherence between growth and employment, and between macroeconomic and employment policies.

• Policies should be reviewed on an ongoing basis as national economic circumstances change.

2. The youth employment challenge must be regarded from the broader perspective of demographic and macroeconomic challenges that can put significant pressure on the sustainability of social protection systems that G20 countries are seeking to preserve. Taking into consideration each national context and development, access to social protection programmes for young people can help provide the income security needed to acquire skills and engage in job search. This is key to ensure that, over the course of their lifetime, they will become productive workers and significant contributors to these systems. It is important to recognize the negative impact of youth unemployment, or under-employment in the informal sector, on contributions to the financing of the social protection floors. A “scarred” generation can result in major funding gaps for national social protection systems. It is, therefore, crucial to provide access to social protection for those youth who currently lack access to such support.

• G20 countries should aim at developing and, where appropriate, strengthening nationally-defined social protection floors combined with active labour market policies to provide greater access for young people to them.

3. While the current problems faced by youth precede the crisis, challenges have worsened. In many countries, even relatively skilled youth are experiencing significant difficulty in finding productive jobs. Nevertheless, unemployment and under-employment problems for unskilled youth are significantly higher than that of those with skills. Youth who are unable to find jobs or are relegated to low-paying unskilled work often suffer long-lasting “scarring” effects. In G20 countries, there is an urgent need to maintain or scaleup social protection and combine it with active labour market policies that will sustain job search, facilitate the acquisition of required skills and offer an adequate safety net considering national realities and contexts. These mechanisms should play a counter-cyclical macroeconomic role (i.e., automatic temporary stabilizers) in times of crisis and complement one another with a stable, long- term and necessary safety net, at national and international levels.

Therefore, taking into account each domestic situation and possibilities, the following short-term, medium-term and long-term strategies could be considered by G20 Labour and Employment Ministers to address the challenge of youth employment:

• Ensure that unemployed youth have access to adequate income support unemployment benefits or other forms of safety nets -- while searching for jobs, combined with effective re-employment services. •

• Policies to ensure the skills and expertise of highly skilled youth are used in a productive manner should be taken into consideration.

4. The crisis has also accelerated the need to strengthen key aspects of the education and training systems to prepare young people for the needs of the labour market. Basic education, including literacy and numeracy, is critical, as is the acquisition of both “hard” and “soft” skills. Governments, employers, workers and the training and education communities should work together to provide access, guidance, job search assistance, and social skills that can help young people find and maintain quality employment. Comprehensive policies should be developed for those young people who face particular difficulties beyond accessing the labour market. Governments should consider initiatives to reach the most vulnerable youth.

To properly address the school to work transition, governments should consider at the national level and as appropriate, the following actions:

• Promote the acquisition of quality basic education. Governments should work to increase the educational attainment of young people, extending the capacity of their country's workforce. Completion of secondary education is becoming essential in all G20 countries to ensure a smooth transition to work and to enhance the career prospects of young people. This can be achieved in some countries by raising the age of compulsory education, while in others by removing barriers to accessing secondary education. Programmes making social welfare contingent on children's school attendance, such as conditional cash transfers, have proven to be effective investments in human capital and increase opportunities for children living in poverty.

• Support the integration of school leavers into the labour market with the use of vocational education and work experience programmes, among others. In some countries, well-targeted second chance programmes can make a difference in reintegrating disconnected youth.

• Assess how changes in the structure of the economy could affect the demand for specific skills and competencies. Training programmes should be developed to respond both to current and future labour market needs. Labour market information tools can anticipate future demands and skills requirements. Technical cooperation in this field could be promoted.

• Encourage labour representatives, employers and training providers to work together on the design of vocational training, so that the curricula matches current and future labour market needs, including those of high-growth sectors, like green industry, among others.

• Promote free career guidance in school curricula from secondary school onwards and provide students with relevant information about present and future labour market needs (including web-based tools).

• Promote self-employment/business creation, by increasing awareness of and providing support to entrepreneurship among youth in school. These projects could be complemented with other forms of assistance, such as professional advice, public support and funding facilities.

Provide support for different categories of young people, including assistance in job training and job search, adult mentoring, alternative education and work experience. Consider designing programmes or dedicated structures for vulnerable youth, including young women and rural populations that address diverse academic and social needs. Promote individualized approaches to address personal needs of vulnerable youth to help them achieve educational and job success.

5. Promote vocational training, including apprenticeships and internships. Education and training systems play a key role in preparing young people for the needs of the labour market. Ongoing training in the workplace is important to fostering employment stability and career enhancement. The majority of G20 countries are either considering or have implemented formal work/training schemes. In addition, governments could, where appropriate and according to national contexts:

• Consider making national commitments to further develop high-quality apprenticeship and internship programmes.

• Foster opportunities for young people to get their first job by promoting and financially supporting apprenticeships and by encouraging businesses to retain their former apprentices. Encourage the inclusion of work experience in all higher education curricula.

• Promote apprenticeships in large, medium and small enterprises.

• Consider facilitating international mobility for students in college, vocational training or apprenticeships, so that they can work with businesses and training organisations. Encourage more comparability of college agendas, curricula, and diplomas would help G20 college students studying abroad.

• Consider legislative changes which may extend the periods of training and education to facilitate the integration of young people into the labour market.

6. In G20 and other countries, youth are disproportionally represented in “precarious employment”—jobs in the informal sector or with fixed-term duration and limited career prospects. Further efforts should be made to encourage firms to offer young people open-ended (formal) job contracts that provide access to social security and career prospects. Therefore, bearing in mind national circumstances, G20 countries could:

• Implement regulatory and structural reforms that promote quality employment for young people, that is, permanent job opportunities with social security and a career prospect.

• Promote transitions from informal to formal employment for young people. Formal recognition of skills acquired on the job in informal activities can enable young people to attain formal employment. The validation of informal training can also support this transition.

• Foster entrepreneurship opportunities, particularly in emerging or nontraditional sectors such as the green economy.

7. Special policies for youth should be considered in developing countries where the majority of the workforce is in the informal sector. To help promote the employment of young workers, and in accordance to national circumstances, governments could:

• Make young workers aware of employment opportunities by providing information, vocational guidance and support for those interested.

• Improve the oversight of working conditions in those areas of the informal sector where youth are particularly vulnerable.

• Develop programmes that help young workers who have migrated from rural areas to make the transition to an urban environment. This could include programmes that provide training, job search techniques, and that help fight discrimination against new domestic migrant workers.

• Develop an infrastructure for delivering, testing and certifying short-term modular employability skills.

• Promote entrepreneurship as a way for youth to join the formal economy. Efforts should be made to provide specialised training, mentoring and access to credit

• Develop supplementary employment schemes for seasonal unemployment.

• Promote co-operatives.

8. When they meet on May 17-18, 2012 in Guadalajara, Mexico, the G20 Labour and Employment Ministers could consider the following:

• Sharing their concerns to the G20 Summit on the implications of high youth unemployment for the sustainability of nationally defined social protection floors and the speed of skill acquisition to sustain high productivity-lead growth.

• Consider the possible linkages with the report requested by G20 Finance Ministers on how the G20 Framework on Strong, Sustainable and Balanced Growth can contribute to job creation, especially for youth, which is being prepared by international organizations.