15/01/2026

BIZ & FINANCE THURSDAY | JAN 15, 2026

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Global unemployment ‘stable’ in 2026

GENEVA: The global unemployment rate is expected to hold steady in 2026, the United Nations said yesterday, but cautioned the labour market’s seeming stability belies a dire shortage of decent jobs. The UN’s International Labour Organisation said the global economy and labour market appeared to have weathered recent economic shocks better than expected. But the ILO warned that efforts to improve global job quality had stagnated, leaving hundreds of o Decent jobs lacking, many workers trapped in poverty: UN agency

It artificial intelligence and automation could exacerbate challenges, particularly for educated young people in wealthier countries seeking their first high-skill jobs. “While the full impact of AI on youth employment remains uncertain, its potential magnitude warrants close monitoring,” the report said. The ILO also highlighted “entrenched gender inequalities”, pointing out that women still account for just two-fifths of global employment. “Stable labour markets are not necessarily healthy,” Fredrickson said, stressing the growing need for “domestic policy choices to strengthen decent work outcomes”. “Without decisive action, today’s stability risks giving way to deeper inequalities.” – AFP warned that

“Resilient growth and stable unemployment figures should not distract us from the deeper reality: hundreds of millions of workers remain trapped in poverty, informality, and exclusion,” ILO chief Gilbert Houngbo said in a statement. Nearly 300 million workers continue to live in extreme poverty, earning less than US$3 a day, Wednesday’s report found. At the same time, some 2.1 billion workers are expected to hold informal jobs this year, with limited access to social protection, labour rights and job security. Young people remain particularly vulnerable, with unemployment among 15- to 24-year-olds projected to reach 12.4% for 2025, with around 260 million young people not engaged in education, employment or training, ILO said.

combined with ongoing long-term transformations in global trade, could significantly affect labour market outcomes”. Going forward, the ILO said its modelling suggested that a moderate increase in trade policy uncertainty “may reduce returns to labour and, as a consequence, real wages for both skilled and unskilled workers across all sectors”, especially in Southeast Asia, Southern Asia and Europe. The potential of trade to generate new employment opportunities was also being challenged by the ongoing disruptions, the report said, pointing out that 465 million jobs globally depended on foreign demand through exports of goods and services and related supply chains in 2024. Another major concern highlighted by the ILO was the quality of jobs available.

millions of workers wallowing in poverty, even as trade uncertainty risked cutting into workers wages. The global unemployment rate was estimated at 4.9% last year and the year before, and is now projected to remain at a similar level until 2027, a report from the UN labour agency said. That amounts to 186 million people out of work this year, it said. “Global labour markets look stable, but that stability is quite fragile,” Caroline Fredrickson, head of the ILO’s research department, told reporters, cautioning that the “apparent calm masks deeper and unresolved problems”. At a time when US President Donald Trump has slapped towering tariffs on friends and foes alike, the report cautioned that “disruptions caused by trade uncertainty,

Microsoft says will foot AI’s massive power bill SAN FRANCISCO: Microsoft said on Tuesday it will shoulder the full electricity costs of its US data centres to prevent American households from facing higher power bills driven by surging AI energy demand. US President Donald Trump first announced the initiative late on Monday on Truth Social, saying his administration had been working with technology companies to ensure they “pay their own way” for power consumption. “I never want Americans to pay higher Electricity bills because of Data Centres,“ Trump wrote. Ahead of midterm elections in November, the increase in electricity bills has become a hot-button issue across the country, with tech companies multiplying major data centre projects to meet their AI ambitions. US data centre electricity consumption is projected to more than triple by 2035, according to the International Energy Agency, and already covers 6% to 8% of US electricity use. To meet the demand, utilities sometimes need to build new power plants, upgrade transmission lines, or expand grid capacity – investments that usually get passed on to all customers through rate increases. Microsoft said on Tuesday it will work with utilities and regulators to ensure residential customers are not charged for the massive infrastructure investments needed. “Especially when tech companies are so profitable, we believe that it’s both unfair and politically unrealistic for our industry to ask the public to shoulder added electricity costs for AI,” Microsoft president Brad Smith wrote in a blog post. The company outlined a four-point plan including paying higher rates that cover infrastructure costs and collaborating early with utilities on how to pay for grid expansion. Microsoft pointed to deals in Wyoming and Wisconsin as models, where it has structured agreements that protect residential ratepayers. The move comes as the US faces aging electricity infrastructure and supply chain bottlenecks, with new transmission projects taking seven to 10 years due to permitting delays. Trump said more announcements from other tech firms would follow “in the coming weeks.” Microsoft also said it will replenish more water than its data centres withdraw, responding to growing concerns that AI infrastructure is straining local water systems. This would be done through leak detection programmes, wetland restoration and water infrastructure upgrades, the company said. AI data centres run chips at extremely high temperatures that would burn out within minutes without proper cooling. – AFP

People walk by the facade of the Saks Fifth Avenue flagship store in New York City. – REUTERSPIC

Luxury retailer Saks Global files for bankruptcy NEW YORK: US luxury retail group Saks Global, the parent company of Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman, said yesterday it had filed for bankruptcy. it for the future,” said van Raemdonck. The retailer noted its stores, which include Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, Saks OFF 5TH, Last Call and Horchow, will remain open after it received a fundraising commitment.

The New York-based group, which has about 70 stores, has struggled in a difficult economic climate and while American consumers are spending, they remain price conscious and have not been flocking to its flagship Saks Fifth Avenue store. According to court documents, Saks Global estimated it had assets and liabilities of between US$1 billion and US$10 billion. The group said it planned to “honour all customer programmes, make go-forward payments to vendors, and continue employee payroll and benefits.” “Throughout this process, Saks Global will remain focused on what has always defined the company: exceptional brands, trusted relationships and an unwavering commitment to its loyal customers,” the group said in its statement. – AFP

The group has struggled with a substantial debt load and said in a statement it initiated bankruptcy proceedings in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. Saks Global said it had appointed former Neiman Marcus Group head Geoffroy van Raemdonck as its new CEO with immediate effect, replacing Richard Baker. The organisation said it was evaluating its operational footprint to invest where there is “the greatest long-term potential”. “This is a defining moment for Saks Global, and the path ahead presents a meaningful opportunity to strengthen the foundation of our business and position

Saks Global secured US$1.75 billion in financing, the group announced yesterday, adding that its financing package would position the company “for a strong and stable future while it continues to provide customers with unparalleled multi-brand luxury shopping experiences”. Some of that financing, it said, would provide liquidity to fund Saks Global’s operations and turnaround initiatives. Saks Global had defaulted on a US$100 million interest payment related to its nearly US$2.7 billion acquisition of Neiman Marcus in 2024.