多边开发银行支持循环经济创造就业研究

Job creation is an urgent and fundamental priority for all MultilateralDevelopment Banks (MDBs).Without sufficient job opportunities, especiallyin low- and middle-income countries, where 1.2 billion young people will enter theworkforce over the next 10 to 15 years, economic growth risks being derailed andpoverty reduction will stall. By the Numbers: 5-5.8%of global non-agriculturalemployment is in circularactivities The circular economy is a transformative economic model for achievingsustainable development.It minimizes the use of natural resources, maintainsthe value of products and materials, and prevents or reduces waste. This modelhas enormous potential to create jobs, strengthen business resilience andcompetitiveness, and drive inclusive growth. MDBs play a key role in supportingand financing circular approaches that can be replicated and scaled. 121-142MILLIONpeople are in circular jobs The circular economy is already a significant source of formal andinformal employment.A2025 studyby the World Bank Group (WBG),International Labour Organization (ILO), and Circle Economy estimates that121–142 million people are employed in circular activities (activities that support acircular economy) worldwide – roughly 5–5.8 percent of global non-agriculturalemployment. Emerging market regions, including Asia and the Pacific, LatinAmerica and the Caribbean, and Africa, show high shares of employment in circularactivities(Figure 1). circular workers are inthe informal economy74MILLION 26%of circular workersare women Circular economy activities can be grouped according to lifecycle stage:from the earliest design and production stage, to extending the lifetimeof products, to end-of-life value recovery(see Box 1). Each stage of the lifecyclegenerates different economic activities and employment profiles. Circular jobs(jobs that support circular activities) are currently concentrated in repair andmaintenance, manufacturing, and waste management. 46%of circular jobs are in repairand maintenance activities This note is the first in a series focusing on the circulareconomy prepared by a group of Multilateral DevelopmentBanks (MDBs) composed of the African Development Bank(AfDB), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the EuropeanBank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), theEuropean Investment Bank (EIB), the Inter-AmericanDevelopment Bank (IDB), IDB Invest, and the World BankGroup (WBG). The findings, interpretations, and conclusionsexpressed in this work do not necessarily reflect the officialviews of the MDB boards of executive directors or thegovernments they represent. BOX 1: CIRCULAR ECONOMY LIFECYCLE CATEGORIES Notably, jobs in repair, maintenance,refurbishment, and remanufacturing activitiesaccount for nearly half of all circular jobs globally.1In lower-income countries, these activities account for aneven higher proportion of circular jobs, especially repairof computers, personal and household goods, and motorvehicles. Circular Design and Production:Design phase ofproducts/assets/services that incorporates circulareconomy strategies or principles, including the reductionof material inputs and use of regenerative inputs as wellas increased ease of reuse, repair, or recycling. Productionprocesses that reduce virgin raw material usage andincrease production effectiveness. While the circular transition will require re-skilling and adaptation in some industries tomitigate displacement, the scale of the untappedopportunity is significant.Today, only 7.6 percentof jobs in manufacturing and 3.1 percent of jobs inconstruction contribute to a circular economy . ILOestimates suggest that recycling steel, reprocessingsecondary precious metals, and reprocessing woodare among the highest generators of job growth in thecircular economy. Beyond these, the transition hasthe potential to create new roles in product designand engineering; reuse and refurbishment; recyclingand waste valorization; and regenerative agriculture.Innovative digital models, including product-as-a-serviceand digital traceability, can further generate roles in dataand asset management and reverse logistics. Circular Use:Lifetime extension of products and assetssuch as through repair, refurbishment, reuse, retrofitting,and remanufacturing. Value Recovery:Collection, sorting and aggregation toenable circularity of end-of-life products and materials.Organic and non-organic material management, recycling,and recovery. +Circularity Enablers:Products, services, businessmodels, platforms, and tools that enable circularity acrossdifferent segments of the materials lifecycle, includingincreased intensity of use through shared business models. UNLOCKING THIS JOB POTENTIAL REQUIRES COORDINATED ACTION Realizing this potential will require addressing structural challenges, including informality and gender disparities.More than half of existing workers in non-agriculture circular activities — over 74 million globally — operate informally,without contract