Jobs with high development payoffs can transform societies and spur prosperity

In developing countries, jobs are a cornerstone of development, with a payoff far beyond income alone. They are critical for reducing poverty, making cities work, and providing youth with alternatives to violence, says the World Bank’s World Development Report 2013: Jobs. 

The report stresses the role of strong private sector led growth in creating jobs and outlines how jobs that do the most for development can spur a virtuous cycle.The report finds that poverty falls as people work their way out of hardship and as jobs empower women to invest more in their children. Efficiency increases as workers get better at what they do, as more productive jobs appear, and as less productive ones disappear. Societies flourish as jobs foster diversity and provide alternatives to conflict. 

The report highlights how jobs with the greatest development payoffs are those that raise incomes, make cities function better, connect the economy to global markets, protect the environment, and give people a stake in their societies.