The expansion of global supply chains (GSCs) has increasingly disconnected the location of jobs from the demand supporting them, both geographically and in terms of sector. Using data from the World Input–Output Database, the authors examine these linkages across 40 countries over the period 1995–2013, expanding on earlier analysis published by the ILO, and provide evidence of the number of GSC‐related jobs in terms of job location–export destination combinations. Their findings point to changing patterns in demand and supply of GSC‐related jobs, increasing the role of China as a demand generator, reinforcing production linkages between emerging economies and increasing the number of service jobs dependent on manufacturing GSCs.

The chapter examines how firms’ labour flexibility strategies and capital structure are related with firm performance, based on a firm‐level dataset on formal private sector enterprises in 132 countries. It finds that “investing in people” whether through a strategy of functional labour flexibility or financing decisions for securing working capital (i.e. funds for day‐to‐day operations), is the key feature of enterprises with higher competitiveness and better job quality. Through the provision of formal training for permanent employees, functional labour flexibility is associated with higher productivity and wages, while numerical labour flexibility, enhanced through the use of temporary employment, is associated with lower productivity and wages. Additionally, securing external formal funding to provide working capital is important. Those enterprises that use bank loans for working capital more intensively enjoy higher productivity and pay higher wages, while those that rely more heavily on internal funds are less productive and pay lower wages. In addition, the positive relationship between the use of bank loans and wages is not observed when bank loans are used for new purchases of fixed assets, suggesting that securing formal external funding for new investments is not automatically linked to better job quality.

This chapter examines global trends in the internationalization of production and presents new estimates of the number of jobs linked to global supply chains, providing both aggregate figures and figures by sector and sex. The chapter finds that 453 million jobs were related to global supply chains in 2013 in the 40 countries covered by the estimates, an increase from 296 million jobs in 1995. The chapter also discusses results of a sector‐level analysis in which empirical relationships between a sector's participation in global supply chains and selected indicators are identified from both the lead and the supplier firm perspective. Results suggest that, at least in developed economies, there is a positive impact of global supply chain participation on productivity, while no such impact on wages is found. The chapter concludes by exploring the policy options that are available to ensure that economic benefits of global supply chain participation translate into benefits for workers.

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Résumé L'essor des chaînes d'approvisionnement mondiales (CAM) éloigne l'emploi de la demande, géographiquement et sectoriellement. Pour mieux comprendre le phénomène, les auteurs mesurent l'emploi lié aux CAM selon sa localisation et celle de la demande, en se fondant sur les données de la base WIOD et en complétant les estimations déjà présentées par le BIT. L'analyse porte sur la période 1995–2013 et sur 40 économies. Elle montre que la Chine, principale bénéficiaire de la demande liée aux CAM autrefois, contribue maintenant à l'alimenter, tout comme les relations de production entre économies émergentes. En outre, le poids des services liés à une demande manufacturière augmente.