Transforming Economies, Enabling Jobs
Competitiveness for Jobs and Economic Transformation (C-JET) is a new global partnership facility that helps foster the economic transformation needed to enable better jobs for more people, sustainably and at scale. The Umbrella 2.0 trust fund program will focus on the enabling conditions and programs that promote the entry and growth of competitive firms and sectors as drivers of better jobs. C-JET¡¯s four main thematic pillars include:
- Strengthening the business enabling environment;
- Expanding access to competitive and contestable markets;
- Promoting technology adoption to raise productivity; and
- Supporting entrepreneurship and SME growth. The cross-cutting areas are gender, climate and green competitiveness, and leveraging digital technologies.
With the unfolding of the COVID-19 global pandemic crisis, there is an urgent need to counter economic destruction in the face of an unprecedented decline in economic activity and jobs in the immediate run, and to help firms restructure in the face of the new normal while positioning them for a resilient recovery. The latest ILO data on the labor market impacts of COVID-19 suggests that nearly half of the global workforce is at risk of losing livelihoods. A 10.7 percent drop in working hours is expected for the second quarter of 2020, compared to the last quarter of 2019, equivalent to 305 million full-time equivalent jobs.
By providing support to firms and addressing new constraints to productivity growth and job creation, C-JET can help countries adjust and achieve a faster and more sustainable recovery. C-JET can support deeper structural change to spur the recovery by promoting innovation and digital solutions to expand jobs and business opportunities. It can also contribute towards building a more resilient and equitable future by boosting the green competitiveness agenda and promoting greater gender equality in economic opportunities.