This Short Note is part of a series building on the report Working without Borders: The Promise and Peril of Online Gig Work. While local/regional platforms may not have received as much attention as global platforms, they play an important role for the local labor market and the local private sector ecosystem in many developing countries. This note addresses the following questions: What are the distinguishing features of local/regional gig online platforms, compared to global ones? What role can local/regional online platforms play on both the supply side (in supporting inclusion in developing countries) as well on the demand side (in addressing needs of local firms)? What challenges do local/regional platforms face in building a sustainable business model, and how can these challenges be addressed?.

This project, represented by the eleven studies discussed in this volume, set out to explore two broad questions: What are the experiences of individual workers and sellers as they rely on platforms to earn a living? What are the opportunities improve those experiences?

This paper documents near-exponential growth in the demand for artificial intelligence (AI)-related skills in India’s services sector since 2016, using a new dataset of online vacancies from its largest jobs website. It evaluates the impact of demand for AI skills on establishment-level non-AI postings in the short term using an event study, and medium term using a shiftshare design that exploits variation in exposure to new AI inventions.

The Fairwork Cloudwork Ratings 2023 assesses and scores basic standards of fairness in working arrangements on 15 web-based digital labour platforms according to the five Fairwork principles: fair pay, conditions, contracts, management, and representation.

Angola is at a critical juncture and a multi-sectoral strategy is needed to stimulate job creation that will help build the economy and future prospects for young Angolans, while more deeply engaging youth and increasing productivity in the short term. Job prospects are limited and although youth are better prepared for the labor market than adults, they are still vulnerable and face multiple constraints. The existing portfolio of Active Labor Market Programs offer few programs that are appropriate for the most vulnerable youth. Though the latest macro-economic adjustments and fiscal consolidation will help, much more is needed to leverage oil revenues away from pure consumption and towards investment to develop Angola as a country in its own right. More aggressive policy reforms in the private sector are needed to support productive job growth for firms as well as entrepreneurs to ensure good jobs that are particularly inclusive of vulnerable youth and women. Furthermore, investments in human capital will help youth develop the skills needed for better jobs while improving labor-matching mechanisms to help youth transition into employment.

The Global Green Skills Report 2023 identifies trends at the intersection of the workforce and sustainability based on the activity of more than 930 million LinkedIn users worldwide. This report includes critical questions that policymakers, business leaders, and others might explore as they seek to develop regulations, programs, and policies that foster the development of green skills and create pathways for workers to transition into jobs that help green the planet. This report delves into three sectors: Energy production, Transportation, and Finance.

This Note explores the potential of jobtech platforms to address youth unemployment in South Africa. Harambee is a non-profit organization focused on youth employment solutions. Jobtech refers to technology platforms that connect job seekers with employers or facilitate freelance work.

This S4YE Knowledge Brief series highlights job matching platforms employed by public agencies that leverage advanced technology to connect job seekers and employers. It explores trends in technical features, deployment, and implementation of these platforms, catering to practitioners seeking insights into the practical implications of technology-driven employment solutions.

This Knowledge Brief shares lessons on how the World Bank’s Promoting Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Social Protection and Employment Programs project team in Haiti worked to enhance the identification of persons with disabilities and provide them with skills for service sector jobs. The Brief highlights the importance of focusing on demand-driven skills, working with mainstream training providers, and proactive outreach to employers.

This Note examines how crowd work platforms, online marketplaces for freelance tasks, can impact low-income women in patriarchal societies. While these platforms offer increased work opportunities, the research explores the challenges women face. The study, conducted in India, found significant hurdles like gaining family permission, limited support, and working in secrecy. Despite these difficulties, the research also highlights positive outcomes such as increased confidence,autonomy, and agency for the women involved. The report concludes by discussing ways to reduce the tensions and difficulties faced by women engaging in crowd work.

The 2022 edition discusses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on young people and their labour market prospects during the recovery and beyond. Youth have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic and youth labour markets are now being buffeted by the lingering impacts of the pandemic, geopolitical risks and macroeconomic risks such as the impact of supply chain disruptions and rising inflation, particularly that of food and energy. There is also the potential permanent damage wreaked by these crises on the fabric of labour markets. As countries seek to address these multiple challenges, they must also not lose sight of longer-term priorities. In particular, targeted investment in the green, blue (ocean), digital, creative and care economies hold great potential to provide decent jobs for young people while setting economies on path towards greater sustainability, inclusiveness and resilience.

This OECD paper reviews the experiences of OECD countries that have contracted out employment services through outcome-based payment schemes, focusing on the job brokerage, counselling and case-management employment services typically provided by public agencies. It highlights the need to carefully consider questions related to the design and implementation of this form of contracting: fostering competition amongst potential providers, setting appropriate minimum service requirements and prices for different client groups, and ensuring the accountability of providers through monitoring and evaluations.

This brief takes a closer look at the relationship between trade, employment and poverty reduction. Rather than being comprehensive on all aspects, it aims to give an evidence-based overview of some circumstances under which trade can lead to employment generation and poverty reduction that is relevant to Sida and its partners.

This Cedefop CrowdLearn study undertakes a comparative analysis of skill development and workplace learning practices among two major types of online platform work: online freelancing and microwork. It combines information on microworkers drawn from Amazon’s Mechanical Turk platform with the original CrowdLearn sample of online freelancers surveyed from three major online labour platforms (Fiverr, Upwork, PeoplePerHour). 

The growth of digital labour platforms is presenting opportunities and challenges for workers and businesses and a need for international policy dialogue. This report examines: the features of platform business model, what motivates workers to perform task on platforms and policy recommendations.

As of 2020, the Public Employment Service Austria (AMS) makes use of algorithmic profiling of job seekers to increase the efficiency of its counseling process and the effectiveness of active labor market programs. In this paper, an in-depth analysis of relevant technical documentation and policy documents investigates crucial conceptual, technical, and social implications of the system. 

The European classification of Skills, Competences, Qualifications and Occupations (ESCO) is one concrete implementation of the digital labour market policies put in place by the Commission at European level. ESCO is facilitating an interconnected, digital European labour market by supporting 3 main use cases: job-matching and job searching; career guidance and learning management; research and big data analysis of the labour market. This resource details the use cases.

Humans in the Loop uses the AI annotation market to create livelihoods opportunities for conflict-affected people and communities. This report summarizes how Humans in the Loop is impacting conflict-affected communities by connecting them to digital work programs and training during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Information and communication technologies have long been predicted to spread economic opportunities to rural areas. However, the actual trend in the 21st century has been the opposite. Knowledge spillovers have fueled urbanization and pulled job-seekers into large cities, increasing the gap with rural areas. In this article, the authors argue that new assemblages of technologies and social practices, so-called ‘online labour platforms’, have recently started to counter this trend. 

This book offers insights into how public employment services can respond to the imminent challenges society and governments face in the rapidly changing world of work.