GENEVA, Switzerland, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- A U.N. report published Tuesday calls for fairer globalization, better and more productive jobs to enable more people to rise above the $2-a-day poverty line.
The Geneva-based International Labor Office World Employment Report 2004-2005 said half the world's workers were unable to earn enough to rise above the $2-a-day figure.
The U.N. Millennium Development Goals call for halving the number of global poor by 2015.
Of about 2.8 billion people employed globally in 2003 -- more than ever before -- nearly 1.4 billion -- also the highest number ever -- have been living on less than $2 a day, with 500 million on less than $1, the report said, added that the actual percentage is lower today than in 1990, the ILO said.
The share of people working under $2 a day declined to 49.7 per cent in 2003, from 57.2 per cent in 1990.
"The key to reducing the number of working poor is creating decent and productive employment opportunities and promoting a fairer globalization as strategies for poverty reduction," ILO Director-General Juan Somavia said.
