The ILO and the BRICS

The BRICS is a forum for cooperation among a group of leading emerging economies.

The BRICS includes 9 countries - Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Iran, Russian Federation, South Africa, United Arab Emirates.

The ILO is a key knowledge partner and provides technical inputs to the BRICS on policies that promote decent work and promote decent work. It conducts analysis and provides policy recommendations on labour, economic and social issues to support discussions of the group.

Facts and Figures

Labour force participation rate

The labour force participation rate in BRICS countries is 60.6 % (a total of 1588.3 millions) in 2024. The gap in participation is 25.6 percentage points between men (73.9 %) and women (47.4 %).

ILOSTAT: The leading source of labour statistics

Unemployment rate

The unemployment rate in BRICS countries is 5.3 % (a total of 84.7 millions) in 2024.

ILOSTAT: The leading source of labour statistics

Jobs gap rate

The jobs gap rate in BRICS countries is 9.5 % (a total of 157.7 millions) in 2023.

ILOSTAT: The leading source of labour statistics

Youth NEET rate

The youth not in education, employment or training (NEET) rate in BRICS countries is 20.7 % (a total of 98.1 millions) in 2024.

ILOSTAT: The leading source of labour statistics

Informality rate

The informality rate in BRICS countries is 62.1 % (a total of 934.4 millions) in 2024.

ILO and the 2024 BRICS Presidency

The Russian Federation holds the BRICS Presidency in 2024.

The priorities of the Russian Presidency are:

Policy and security
Cooperation in economy and finance
Cooperation in the humanitarian and cultural spheres.

The Employment Working Group

The BRICS 2024 Russian Presidency has set four priorities for the Employment Working Group:

Development of a system of vocational guidance and lifelong professional education for the entire population
Platform employment: the role in the labour market and the problems of regulating the work of platform workers
Ensuring safe work and social security for employees
Development of social support for citizens of the BRICS countries: Modern tools of social policy