Global labour migration increases by five million

A new ILO report estimates that between 2017 and 2019 the number of international migrants has increased from 164 to 169 million.

More than two-thirds of international migrant workers are concentrated in high-income countries. Of the 169 million international migrant workers, 63.8 million (37.7 per cent) are in Europe and Central Asia. Another 43.3 million (25.6 per cent) are in the Americas. The Arab States, and Asia and the Pacific each host about 24 million migrant workers, which, in total, correspond to 28.5 per cent of all migrant workers. In Africa there are 13.7 million migrant workers, representing 8.1 per cent of the total.

Yet many migrant workers are often in temporary, informal or unprotected jobs, which expose them to a greater risk of insecurity, layoffs and worsening working conditions. The COVID-19 crisis has intensified these vulnerabilities, particularly for women migrant workers, as they are over-represented in low-paid and low-skilled jobs and have limited access to social protection and fewer options for support services.

Additional information can be found here https://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/newsroom/news/WCMS_808884/lang--en/index.htm