McKinsey Global Institute

Labor Markets

MGI The world at work 3.5 billion

The world at work: Jobs, pay, and skills for 3.5 billion people

June 2012—Strains on the global labor force are becoming painfully evident. Market forces will fail to resolve demand and supply imbalances for tens of millions of skilled and unskilled workers.more

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More on Labor Markets

James Griffith
interview

Manufacturing’s new era: A conversation with Timken CEO James Griffith

December 2012—The manufacturer’s chief talks with McKinsey director Katy George about skills, costs, and the supply-chain challenges of transforming production in an age of emerging-market growth.more

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European investment
report

Investing in growth: Europe's next challenge

December 2012—Private investment was the hardest-hit component of Europe’s GDP between 2007 and 2011—but it can also be a major driver of the region’s recovery. more

France may face a shortfall of 2.2 million highly skilled workers by 2020
report

French employment 2020: Five priorities for action

May 2012—Unemployment is rising. Unless it comes down, France won’t be able to sustain its beleaguered social safety net.more

Growth across mature economies
report

Trading myths: Addressing misconceptions about trade, jobs, and competitiveness

May 2012—MGI analyzes the performance of mature economies’ tradable sectors. We found that reality is often at odds with conventional wisdom.more

advanced economies job trends
report

Help wanted: The future of work in advanced economies

March 2012—Long-range forces are changing the nature of work and how jobs will be created. The disequilibrium in many national labor markets won't be solved by measures that worked well in decades past.more

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Nobel prize winner Peter Diamond
interview

Thinking long-term today: An interview with Peter Diamond

March 2012—James Manyika speaks with Professor Peter Diamond, nobel prize winner in economics and an Institute Professor and a professor of economics emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, about long-term employment challenges in the United States and how to address them.more

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European growth and renewal path to recovery
report

European growth and renewal: The path from crisis to recovery

July 2011—Europe is growing again, but the recovery is uneven and under threat from the continuing eurozone debt crisis. Europe has significant strengths on which to build but needs to address profound long-term challenges that could limit its future growth.more

Job creation and America's future
report

An economy that works: Job creation and America's future

June 2011—To regain full employment—finding work for the currently unemployed and accommodating 15 million entrants into the labor force this decade—the US economy will need to create 21 million jobs by 2020.more

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A path for growth in Europe
report

Beyond austerity: A path to economic growth and renewal in Europe

October 2010—With multiple pressures on growth and constrained public finances, Europe needs structural reform even to match past GDP growth rates. Parts of Europe have begun to reform with demonstrable success. more

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Changing the fortunes of America's workforce
report

Changing the fortunes of America's workforce: A human-capital challenge

June 2009—Global economic integration and technological advances have combined to produce permanent changes in the skill levels required to flourish in the US labor market.more

Related

interviewNobel prize winner Peter Diamond

Thinking long-term today: An interview with Peter Diamond

James Manyika speaks with Professor Peter Diamond, a nobel prize winner in economics, about long-term employment challenges in the United States and how to address them.more

videoJames Manyika talks about job creation

The global job crisis

James Manyika and other McKinsey experts discuss the underlying causes of the jobs crisis and some of the ways business and government can cooperate to create the millions of jobs that are needed.more

The US challenge perspectives

The US employment challenge: Perspectives from Carl Camden and Michael Spence

McKinsey Quarterly—The CEO of a global staffing firm and a Nobel laureate economist discuss the changing face of US employment and the obstacles to job creation.more

24 million

The number of new jobs created in the EU-15 countries between 1995 and 2008—more than the United Statesmore