Sustainable Development Goal 8 (SDG 8 or Global Goal 8) is about "decent work and economic growth" and is one of the 17

Sustainable Development Goals The ''2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development'', adopted by all United Nations (UN) members in 2015, created 17 world Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The aim of these global goals is "peace and prosperity for people and the planet" – wh ...

which were established by the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its Seventy-ninth session of th ...

in 2015. The full title is to "Foster sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive

employment Employment is a relationship between two party (law), parties Regulation, regulating the provision of paid Labour (human activity), labour services. Usually based on a employment contract, contract, one party, the employer, which might be a cor ...

and decent work for all."United Nations (2017) Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 6 July 2017, Work of the Statistical Commission pertaining to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
A/RES/71/313
Progress towards targets will be measured, monitored and evaluated by 17 indicators. SDG 8 has twelve targets in total to be achieved by 2030. Some targets are for 2030; others are for 2020. The first ten are ''outcome targets''. These are; "sustainable

economic growth In economics, economic growth is an increase in the quantity and quality of the economic goods and Service (economics), services that a society Production (economics), produces. It can be measured as the increase in the inflation-adjusted Outp ...

; diversify, innovate and upgrade for

economic productivity Productivity is the efficiency of production of goods or services expressed by some measure. Measurements of productivity are often expressed as a ratio of an aggregate output to a single input or an aggregate input used in a production proce ...

", "promote policies to support job creation and growing enterprises", "improve resource efficiency in consumption and production", 'full

and decent work with equal pay', 'promote youth employment, education and training', 'end modern slavery,

trafficking Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. More broadly, soc ...

, and

child labour Child labour is the exploitation of children through any form of work that interferes with their ability to attend regular school, or is mentally, physically, socially and morally harmful. Such exploitation is prohibited by legislation w ...

', 'protect

labour rights Labor rights or workers' rights are both legal rights and human rights relating to labor relations between workers and employers. These rights are codified in national and international labor and employment law. In general, the ...

and promote safe working environments', 'promote beneficial and

sustainable tourism Sustainable tourism is a concept that covers the complete tourism experience, including concern for Impacts of tourism, economic, social, and environmental issues as well as attention to improving tourists' experiences and addressing the needs o ...

', universal access to banking, insurance and

financial services Financial services are service (economics), economic services tied to finance provided by financial institutions. Financial services encompass a broad range of tertiary sector of the economy, service sector activities, especially as concerns finan ...

. In addition, there are also two targets for ''means of implementation Text was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License'', which are: Increase aid for trade support; develop a global youth employment strategy. For the

least developed countries The least developed countries (LDCs) are developing countries listed by the United Nations that exhibit the lowest indicators of socioeconomic development. The concept of LDCs originated in the late 1960s and the first group of LDCs was listed b ...

, the economic target is to attain at least a 7 percent annual growth in

Gross Domestic Product Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the total market value of all the final goods and services produced and rendered in a specific time period by a country or countries. GDP is often used to measure the economic performanc ...

(GDP). In 2018, the global growth rate of real

GDP per capita This is a list of countries by nominal GDP per capita. GDP per capita is the total value of a country's finished goods and services (gross domestic product) divided by its total population (per capita). Gross domestic product (GDP) per capita is ...

was 2 per cent. Over the past five years, economic growth in least developed countries has been increasing at an average rate of 4.3 per cent. In 2019, 22 per cent of the world's young people were not in employment, education or training.

Background

For close to three decades, the number of workers living in

extreme poverty Extreme poverty is the most severe type of poverty, defined by the United Nations (UN) as "a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, ...

has reduced drastically. This is despite the impact of the

2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...

and

Great Recession The Great Recession was a period of market decline in economies around the world that occurred from late 2007 to mid-2009.

. In

developing countries A developing country is a sovereign state with a less-developed Secondary sector of the economy, industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to developed countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. ...

, 34% of total employments were for the middle class, a number that increased rapidly between 1991 and 2015. Employment growth since 2008 has "averaged only 0.1% annually, compared with 0.9% between 2000 and 2007". SDG 8 aims at fostering sustainable and equitable

for all workers, irrespective of their background, race or

gender Gender is the range of social, psychological, cultural, and behavioral aspects of being a man (or boy), woman (or girl), or third gender. Although gender often corresponds to sex, a transgender person may identify with a gender other tha ...

. This means achieving "higher levels of

through product diversification, technological upgrading and

innovation Innovation is the practical implementation of ideas that result in the introduction of new goods or service (economics), services or improvement in offering goods or services. ISO TC 279 in the standard ISO 56000:2020 defines innovation as "a n ...

, including through a focus on high-value added and labour-intensive sectors."

Targets, indicators and progress

The UN has defined the 12 Targets and 17 Indicators for SDG 8. The 12 Targets specify the goals and Indicators represent the metrics by which the world aims to track whether these targets are achieved by using the years stated and documented for the indicators actualisation. Two of the indicators are to be achieved by the year 2020, one by the year 2025, and the remaining fourteen indicators are to be achieved by 2030.

Target 8.1: Sustainable economic growth

The full title of Target 8.1 is: "Sustain

per capita ''Per capita'' is a Latin phrase literally meaning "by heads" or "for each head", and idiomatically used to mean "per person". Social statistics The term is used in a wide variety of social science, social sciences and statistical research conte ...

economic growth in accordance with national circumstances and, in particular, at least 7 per cent

gross domestic product Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the total market value of all the final goods and services produced and rendered in a specific time period by a country or countries. GDP is often used to measure the economic performanc ...

growth per annum in the

". It has one indicator: Indicator 8.1.1 is the " Annual growth rate of real GDP per capita". Achieving higher productivity will require diversification and upgraded technology along with innovation, entrepreneurship, and the growth of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In 2018, the global growth rate of real GDP per capita was 2 per cent.

Target 8.2: Diversify, innovate and upgrade for economic productivity

Growth-rate-of-real-gdp-per-employed-person

The official wording for Target 8.2 is: "Achieve higher levels of

through diversification, technological upgrading and innovation, including through a focus on high-value added and labour-intensive sectors." It has one indicator: Indicator 8.2.1 is the "Annual growth rate of real GDP per employed person". A large portion of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

(

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

) had an average 0.5% increase in GDP per employed person, but overall, the continent had an approximate -0.53% decrease in productivity.

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

had an overall decrease in GDP per employed person, with

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

experiencing the largest change at -31.8%. The continent overall met an approximate -2.56% decrease in productivity.

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

had an overall increase in GDP per employed person. It had an approximate 2.1% increase in GDP per employed person with a large portion (

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

) seeing a 6.6% increase.

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

had an overall increase in GDP per employed person. It had an approximate 1.3% increase with a large portion (

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

) seeing a 2.5% increase.

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

had an overall increase in GDP per employed person. It had an approximate 0.4% increase.

Oceania Oceania ( , ) is a region, geographical region including Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Outside of the English-speaking world, Oceania is generally considered a continent, while Mainland Australia is regarded as its co ...

had an overall increase in GDP per employed person. It had an approximate 0.85% increase with a large portion (

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

) seeing a 0.2% increase.

Target 8.3: Promote policies to support job creation and growing enterprises

Informal-employment-of-total-non-agricultural-employment

The official wording for Target 8.3 is: "Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation,

entrepreneurship Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entrepreneu ...

, creativity and

." It has one indicator: Indicator 8.3.1 is the "Proportion of informal employment in non-agriculture employment, by sex". Jobs that fall under the Informal employment in non-agricultural employment include; unregistered and/or small-scale private unincorporated enterprises engaged in the production of goods or services meant for sale or barter, self-employed street vendors, taxi drivers and home-base workers, irrespective of size.

Target 8.4: Improve resource efficiency in consumption and production

Domestic-material-consumption-per-capita

The official title of Target 8.4 is: "Improve progressively, through 2030, global resource efficiency in consumption and production and endeavour to decouple economic growth from

environmental degradation Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, referring respectively to all living and non-living things occurring naturally and the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism ...

, in accordance with the 10‑Year Framework of Programs on Sustainable Consumption and Production, with

developed countries A developed country, or advanced country, is a sovereign state that has a high quality of life, developed economy, and advanced technological infrastructure relative to other less industrialized nations. Most commonly, the criteria for eval ...

taking the lead." It has two indicators: *Indicator 8.4.1: Material footprint, material footprint per capita, and material footprint per GDP *Indicator 8.4.2: Domestic material consumption, domestic material consumption

, and domestic material consumption per GDP The total material footprint is the sum of the material footprint for biomass, fossil fuels, metal ores and non-metal ores. Data on material footprints are outdated and unavailable after the year 2010. Material footprint per capita has had an increase of 39 per cent from the year 2000 to 2017 reaching 12.18 tonnes and material footprint per unit of GDP has had an increase of 7 percent from the year 2000 to 2017 reaching 1.16 kg. Domestic material consumption per capita has increased by 11 per cent from 2010 to 2017 reaching 12.17 tonnes and domestic material consumption per unit of GDP has not increased between 2010 and 2017 staying at a value of 1.16 kg.

Target 8.5: Full employment and decent work with equal pay

The full title for Target 8.5 is: "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". Target 8.5 has two indicators: * Indicator 8.5.1: Average hourly earnings of female and male employees, by occupation, age and persons with disabilities * Indicator 8.5.2:

Unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is the proportion of people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work du ...

rate, by sex, age and persons with disabilities Average earnings are reported for male and female employees, but not available across countries for further breakdowns. In 2017, "a factor-weighted gender pay gap of 19 per cent was determined".

Target 8.6: Promote youth employment, education and training

The full title for Target 8.6 is: "By 2020, substantially reduce the proportion of youth not in employment, education or training". Unlike most SDG targets set for the year 2030, this is set to be achieved by 2020. It has one indicator. Indicator 8.6.1 is the "Proportion of youth (aged 15–24 years) not in

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

or training". Most SDGs are either set to be reached by 2020 or 2030. While SDG 8, is due in 2030 target 8.6 has already expired in 2020. In 2019, "22 per cent of the world's young people were not in employment, education or training, a figure that has hardly changed since 2005". In Canada, over the years there has been a slight decrease in the number of youths not associated with education, employment and or training (NEET). The NEET rates in 1975 were 18% and in 2020, the NEET rates were 20%. While there has been progress in many North American and European Countries, this is not the case for most African countries. As the NEET rates for youth in the majority of African countries are higher today than in 2015 (when the SDGs were originally implemented). Youth that is NEET, are more likely to have adverse effects on their emotional, physical and psychosocial wellbeing. The lack of decent employment can also contribute to exacerbating global issues such as poverty and mass migration. Children aged-5-17 engaged in labour

Target 8.7: End modern slavery, trafficking, and child labour

The full title for Target 8.7 is "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

, including recruitment and use of child soldiers, and by 2025 end child labour in all its forms". There is one indicator: Indicator 8.7.1 is the "Proportion and number of children aged 5–17 years engaged in child labour, by sex and age".

Target 8.8: Protect labour rights and promote safe working environments

The full title of the Target 8.8 is: "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". It has two indicators: * Indicator 8.8.1: Frequency rates of fatal and non-fatal occupational injuries, by sex and migrant status * Indicator 8.8.2: Level of national compliance with labour rights (freedom of association and collective bargaining) based on

International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is one of the firs ...

(ILO) textual sources and national legislation, by sex and migrant status

Target 8.9: Promote beneficial and sustainable tourism

The full text for Target 8.9 is "By 2030, devise and implement policies to promote

that creates jobs and promotes local

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

and products." It has two indicators: * Indicator 8.9.1: Tourism direct GDP as a proportion of total GDP and in growth rate * Indicator 8.9.2: The proportion of jobs in sustainable tourism industries out of total tourism jobs A proposal has been tabled in 2020 to delete Indicator 8.9.2. Every country will be able to generate income as it aims at improving its tourist attraction. Atms per 100000 adults

The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) defines sustainable tourism as “tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment, and host communities”

Target 8.10: Universal access to banking, insurance and financial services

The official text for Target 8.10 is: "Strengthen the capacity of domestic financial institutions to encourage and expand access to banking, insurance and financial services for all". Target 8.10 has two indicators: * Indicator 8.10.1: Number of commercial bank branches per 100,000 adults and (b) number of

automated teller machine An automated teller machine (ATM) is an electronic telecommunications device that enables customers of financial institutions to perform financial transactions, such as cash withdrawals, deposits, funds transfers, balance inquiries or account ...

s (ATMs) per 100,000 adults * Indicator 8.10.2: Proportion of adults (15 years and older) with an account at a bank or other financial institution or with a mobile-money-service provider

Target 8.a: Increase aid for trade support

The official wording for Target 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." It has one indicator. Indicator 8.a.1 is the "Aid for Trade commitments and disbursements". The indicator 8.a.1 is measured as total Official Development Assistance (ODA) allocated to aid for trade in 2015 US$. In 2018, "aid for trade commitments remained stable, at $58 billion, based on current prices".

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

and

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

"received the highest share thereof (31.4 per cent), followed by

sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lie south of the Sahara. These include Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the list of sovereign states and ...

(29.2 per cent)".

Target 8.b: Develop a global youth employment strategy

Graduates of Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator in Johannesburg

The full title of Target 8.b is: "By 2020, develop and operationalize a global strategy for youth employment and implement the Global Jobs Pact of the

". It has one indicator: Indicator 8.b.1 is the "Existence of a developed and operationalized national strategy for youth employment". Unlike most SDG targets with a target for 2030, the goal date for this indicator is 2020. According to data for 2019, 98 per cent of the countries surveyed had a youth employment strategy or a plan to develop one in the near future. ILO as the agency for this indicator is in charge of the data gathering for the progress of Global Youth Empowerment Strategy.

Custodian agencies

Custodian agencies are in charge of reporting on the following indicators: * Indicator 8.1.1:

United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) is part of the United Nations Secretariat and is responsible for the follow-up to major United Nations Summits and Conferences, as well as services to the United Nations Econ ...

(UN-DESA) and

United Nations Statistics Division The United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), formerly the United Nations Statistical Office, serves under the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) as the central mechanism within the Secretariat of the United Nations ...

(UNSD). * Indicators 8.2.1, 8.3.1,8.5.1, 8.5.2, 8.6.1, 8.8.1, 8.8.2 and 8.b.1: International Labour Organisation (ILO). * Indicators 8.4.1 and 8.4.2:

United Nations Environment Programme The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the Declaration of the United Nati ...

(UNEP). * Indicator 8.7.1: The International Labour Organisation (ILO) and United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF). * Indicators 8.9.1 and 8.9.2:

United Nations World Tourism Organization The United Nations World Tourism Organization or UN Tourism (formerly UNWTO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations which promotes responsible, sustainable and universally-accessible tourism. Its headquarters are in Madrid, Spain. Othe ...

(UNWTO). * Indicator 8.10.1:

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...

(IMF). * Indicator 8.10.2:

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

(WB). * Indicator 8.a.1:

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; , OCDE) is an international organization, intergovernmental organization with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and international trade, wor ...

(OECD).

Monitoring

High-level progress reports for all the SDGs are published in the form of reports by the United Nations Secretary General; the most recent is from April 2021.

Links with other SDGs

The attainment of SDG 8 is vested on the success and progress of other SDGs. There cannot be growth in the economy of any country if its citizens are not well educated. Therefore, SDG 8; Decent Work and Economic Growth interlinks with Quality Education ( SDG 4), Gender Equality ( SDG 5) for equal work opportunities. There are also strong ties with

Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure Sustainable Development Goal 9 (Goal 9 or SDG 9) is about "industry, innovation and infrastructure" and is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015. SDG 9 aims to build resilient infrastruc ...

( SDG 9) and Responsible consumption and production ( SDG 12).

Organizations

UN system

World Bank Group The World Bank Group (WBG) is a family of five international organizations that make leveraged loans to developing countries. It is the largest and best-known development bank in the world and an observer at the United Nations Development Group ...

: Since the inception of the Global Goals, The World Bank has been in support with the vision to alleviate poverty and empower both gender through its training, resources mobilisation and others. *

United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) is an office of the U.N. Secretariat that promotes and facilitates peaceful international cooperation in outer space. It works to establish or strengthen the legal and regulatory fram ...

(UNOOSA) * International Labour Organisation * UN Women acts to "achieve economic rights and growth for all by promoting decent work, equal pay for equal work, equal access to economic assets and opportunities, and the fair distribution of unpaid care work". * United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)

Challenges

Impacts of COVID-19 pandemic

With companies shutting down and small scale business being affected as a result of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

it is reported that chances of employment will continue to decrease. The outbreak of the

in 2020 has reduced the growth of every economy in the world, including every sector like banking, insurance and services. Other sectors such as tourism, are also facing challenges and the GDP per capita is expected to drop by 4.2% this period.

Criticism

Several researchers have noted that continued global

of 3 percent (Goal 8.1) may not be reconcilable with the ecological sustainability SDGs ( 6, 12, 13, 14, and 15), because the required rate of absolute global eco-economic decoupling is far higher than any country has achieved in the past. According to anthropologist Jason Hickel, it may also conflict with other non-environmental goals as well; for example, SDG 1 (no poverty) may become unachievable if economic development leads to most jobs becoming fully automated, which may be easier in the developing countries' crucial manufacturing sector. In light of this, he proposes eliminating Goal 8.1 and modifying other goals, such as SDGs 8.4 and 10 (reduced income inequality) to make them quantitative and explicitly oriented toward sustainability and social welfare.

References

External links

Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform (Goal 8)United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA)SDG Watch Europe & Friends of the Earth Europe“Global Goals” Campaign - SDG 8

SDG-Track.org - SDG 8UN SDG 8 in the US
{{Sustainable Development Goals Sustainable Development Goals 2015 establishments in New York City Projects established in 2015 Economic growth Right to work