Enviro News Asia, Rome — The global forest sector employs approximately 42 million people, accounting for about 1.2% of total global employment, according to new research released by the Food and Agriculture Organization, International Labour Organization, and the Thünen Institute of Forestry.
The study, titled Updated Methodology to Quantify Forest-Sector Employment: Global and Regional Estimates, provides updated data covering 2011 to 2022 across 182 countries, representing 99% of the world’s forest area.
The report highlights that women account for around 10.6 million jobs, or 25% of total forest-sector employment, marking the first global sex-disaggregated estimate for the sector.
Zhimin Wu, Assistant Director-General of FAO’s Forestry Division, emphasized the importance of gender-disaggregated data in shaping effective policies.
“To build a sustainable and resilient forest sector, we need a clear picture of who works in forests, starting with gender-based data,” Wu said.
The research introduces the Forest Employment (FEM) model, a new methodology designed to improve the accuracy and consistency of employment data in the forest sector. The model generates annual estimates and incorporates country-specific socioeconomic and labor market indicators.
Despite its significant contribution to economies and sustainable development, global forest-sector employment declined by approximately 3.1% compared to 2011 levels.
Regionally, Asia recorded the highest share of forest-sector employment at around 1.4%, while Europe saw a slight decline to 1.2% in 2022. Africa experienced fluctuations, and employment levels in the Americas remained relatively stable at around 0.8%.
The report also notes that wood and wood product manufacturing remains the largest employer within the sector, accounting for approximately 58% of total jobs, followed by forestry and logging, and pulp and paper production.
The findings are expected to support policymakers in designing more inclusive and sustainable forest-sector strategies worldwide. (*)
