ILO brief says the Middle East crisis could reshape jobs across Asia and the Pacific

5 November 2026

A new policy brief from the International Labour Organization asks what the Middle East crisis and the search for energy security mean for work across Asia and the Pacific.
It was prepared by the ILO's Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, based in Bangkok.
Interrupted energy supplies, it argues, have shown how heavily the region leans on fuel it must buy from abroad, which is one more reason to broaden the energy mix.
Moving faster on renewables, storage and electrification would open work for engineers, electricians, builders, installers, technicians and maintenance staff.
Its caution is that these openings need not go to the workers, industries or places that lose out, in a region where close to two-thirds of all employment is informal.
Tuomo Poutiainen, the ILO's Deputy Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, notes that the new work may sit elsewhere and call for other skills.
Governments are urged to put retraining alongside employment services and to widen social protection.