Ramiro Albrieu

A job can be a path out of poverty. Understanding what kind of jobs is essential to designing policies that work. The @WorldBankGroup’s new Poverty, Prosperity, and Planet Report 2026: Jobs at the Center of Poverty Eradication brings this challenge into focus. Adults in poor and nonpoor households are about equally likely to be employed. But those in poor households tend to earn less, work fewer hours, and support more dependents. This distinction matters for policy. The report finds that higher earnings matter most for the poorest, while expanding employment, particularly among women, offers greater benefits for those near the poverty line. Accelerating poverty reduction therefore requires both more employment opportunities and better returns to the work people already do. For me, the implication is clear: we need to ask whose productivity is rising, who can access new opportunities, and whether earnings are sufficient to improve household living standards. More and better #jobs must be at the center of a strategy that connects growth with lasting #poverty reduction. Its success should be measured by people’s ability to build more secure and prosperous lives. Explore the report: worldbank.org/en/publication…