Goal 8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all

Economic growth is a principal driver of sustainable development. When this growth is sustained and inclusive, more people can escape poverty as opportunities for full and productive employment expand. To allow future generations to benefit from today’s economic growth, such growth should be environmentally sound and not the result of unsustainable exploitation of resources.

•  The average annual growth rate of real gross domestic product (GDP) per capita expanded from 0.9 per cent over the period 2005-2009 to 1.6 per cent in 2010-2015. Real GDP growth in the least developed countries (LDCs) averaged 4.9 per cent in  2010-2015, short of the target of at least 7 per cent annually.
•  Growth in labour productivity—measured by GDP per worker—slowed sharply after the financial crisis of 2008-2009. It grew at an average annual rate of 1.9 per cent between 2009 and 2016, compared to 2.9 per cent between 2000 and 2008. 
•  The global unemployment rate fell from 6.1 per cent in 2010 to 5.7 per cent in 2016. Despite progress overall, youth (aged 15 to 24 years) were nearly three times more likely than adults to be without a job, with unemployment rates of 12.8 per cent and 4.4 per cent, respectively. 
•  The number of children aged 5 to 17 engaged in child labour declined from 246 million in 2000 to 168 million in 2012. Still, around 1 in 10 children worldwide were engaged in child labour in 2012; more than half of them (85 million) were exposed to hazardous forms of work. 

TheSustainableDevelopmentGoalsReport2017