Full Report

Labour Market Inventory ASEAN 2010-15: Labour market policy in an age of increasing economic integration

The third inventory studies the extent to which the increasing levels of economic integration among ASEAN member states have been paralleled by a higher level of coordination when it comes to labour market policy. It is a result of a collaboration between the ILO, the OECD Development Centre and the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, and was concluded in December of 2018.

The report reviews trends in labour market policies in ASEAN Member States and their main trading partners between 2010 and 2015.
Policy-makers invested significant effort in addressing some of the decent work challenges in the region between 2010 and 2015. In areas such as social protection and active labour market policies national level policies were positively influenced by ASEAN declarations on the subjects.
Despite the large policy progress in many areas, significant policy gaps still remain. Workers more vulnerable to exploitation, such as migrants, minorities or informal workers, were the target of a very small share of the policies during the period.
This report highlighted the need for continued dedication by policy-makers to the improvement of labour market institutions and programmes. This commitment to the advancement of the decent work agenda in the region could also benefit from further ASEAN level actions focusing on labour and social issues.