Publications

Where people live shapes their chances of finding good jobs and moving up the income ladder. The OECD Employment Outlook 2026 documents large and persistent gaps in employment, unemployment and disposable incomes across regions. Regional access to job opportunities plays a key role in determining both income levels and income mobility. By contrast, mobility across regions alone is insufficient to close existing gaps in labour market outcomes, and can even widen them. Local labour markets are also being reshaped by trade and technology shocks, including artificial intelligence, with some regions losing manufacturing jobs while others are creating more service jobs and non-routine work. However, adjustment to such changes often occurs through transitions into joblessness and job opportunities for newcomers rather than because affected workers move across sectors, leaving lasting scars for displaced workers. The report calls for integrated, place-based strategies that combine regional and industrial policies with effective employment and social support to help workers and communities develop new opportunities and navigate structural change. The Outlook also examines recent labour market developments and investigates changes in how skills translate into pay and job prospects, as well as aspects of labour regulation such as employment protection legislation and non-compete agreements.

Public finances in OECD countries are facing significant challenges such as slow economic growth, ageing populations, high debt from recent crises, and new spending pressures, including in defence. This report looks at efforts made by OECD countries as well as some accession candidate countries and one non-Member economy in 2025 and 2026 to restore their public finances. Drawing on the results of the 2026 OECD Survey on Restoring Public Finances, it provides an overview of ongoing savings initiatives across all major spending areas, as well as details of reforms and savings measures. Further reforms will be required to ensure fiscal sustainability and generate fiscal space to empower government action. Governments will also need to continue strengthening their budgeting institutions. Finally, given that lasting support for reform depends on citizens’ awareness and ownership of both the need for change and its implications, focusing on empowering public understanding of the fiscal challenges ahead will be essential in the future. A companion report entitled The People and the Budget addresses these issues.