ILO warns of rise in social unrest and migration as inequality widens

UN agency records rising discontent in all regions and calls on policymakers to tackle unemployment and inequality urgently

Rising unemployment, inequality and a lack of decent jobs have helped fuel a rise in social unrest that threatens to intensify unless policymakers take swift action, the UN's labour agency has warned.

The International Labour Organization said its measure of protest activities around the world had ticked higher in the last year against a backdrop of economic and political uncertainty. In a downbeat report into global labour market prospects, the agency also predicted migration could rise over the next decade as frustrated jobseekers leave their countries in search of better prospects.