Number of employees worldwide 1991-2024

In 2024, there were estimated to be approximately 3.5 billion people employed worldwide, compared to 2.23 billion people in 1991 - an increase of around 1.3 billion people. There was a noticeable fall in global employment between 2019 and 2020, when the number of employed people fell from 3.3 billion to 3.19 billion due to the sudden economic shock caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Formal vs. Informal employment globally

Worldwide, there is a large gap between the informally and formally employed. Most informally employed workers reside in the Global South, especially Africa and Southeast Asia. Moreover, men are slightly more likely to be informally employed than women. The majority of informal work, nearly 90 percent, is within the agricultural sector, with domestic work and construction following behind.

Women’s employment

As the number of employees has risen globally, so has the number of employed women. Overall, care roles such as nursing and midwifery have the highest shares of female employees globally. Moreover, while the gender pay gap has shrunk over time, it still exists. As of 2023, the uncontrolled gender pay gap was 0.83, meaning women made, on average, 83 cents per every dollar earned by men.