What Publications and Research Can I Find on the ILO Website?

The ILO website (ilo.org) is the official platform of the International Labour Organization, and its publications section is where you can find flagship reports on employment trends, skills, artificial intelligence and decent work, and social trends. The homepage's "Featured publications" area is the fastest entry point: it surfaces current titles such as Global Employment Trends for Youth 2026: Back to the future, Employment and Social Trends 2026, Lifelong learning and skills for the future, and A moment of choice: Harnessing artificial intelligence for decent work. If you need labour and employment data for research, policy work, or a paper, start from these featured titles and follow the "More publications" link to the full catalogue.

What the homepage highlights

The featured publications block is curated, not a full archive, so treat it as a signal of what the ILO currently considers important. From the page evidence, the visible titles cluster into four themes:

The "World of Work Series" label appears on more than one featured item, so it is a useful series name to search for if you want related reports rather than a single title.

Research topics beyond the featured list

The homepage also groups work under "Focus on" areas, which indicate the thematic scope of ILO research and guidance:

• Transition from the informal to the formal economy
• Just transitions towards environmentally sustainable economies and societies
• Decent work outcomes in supply chains
• Decent work in crisis and post-crisis situations

These are topic hubs rather than single reports, so they are the right place to look when your question is thematic (for example, informal employment or supply chain labour standards) rather than tied to one annual report.

Other research-oriented resources on the site

The homepage points to several non-report resources that are useful for research and monitoring:

• Observatory on AI and Work in the Digital Economy — a dedicated observatory for AI-and-work evidence.
• ILO Live — described as broadcasting on the world of work 24/7, useful for events and presentations.
• ILO Voices — first-person stories from the world of work, useful as qualitative context rather than statistics.
• The Future of work podcast and other vodcast/podcast items, such as discussions on whether it is harder for young people to find a job and why life is becoming harder to afford despite economic growth.

How to use the site to find what you need

1. Start with the featured publications block if you want current flagship reports; note the exact titles and series names.
2. Follow "More publications" to move from the curated selection to the broader catalogue.
3. Use the "Focus on" hubs when your topic is thematic rather than a specific annual report.
4. Check observatories and media sections (Observatory on AI and Work, ILO Live, podcasts) for evidence and context that sits outside formal reports.
5. Verify the publication date and series before citing, since the homepage mixes 2026 titles with event and media announcements.

Practical caveats

The homepage is a rotating showcase, so titles visible today may be replaced; bookmark the specific report page rather than the homepage if you plan to cite it. The page evidence does not state pricing or access terms for publications, so do not assume a download is free or requires no login — check the individual publication page. For statistical series, confirm whether you are looking at a summary report or the underlying dataset before using figures in analysis.