The global unemployment rate—standing at almost 200 million people in 2016—is expected to remain elevated in the coming years and unlikely to fall below pre-crisis rates in the medium term as the global labour force continues to grow.1 Vulnerable forms of employment remain pervasive, particularly among women,2 undermining the ambition to create decent work and sustainable routes out of poverty. This was followed by a second major expenditure contraction starting in 2016. In 2018,124 countries will be adjusting expenditures in terms of GDP and this number is expected to rise slightly in 2019 and 2020/ This is a daunting scenario and at odds with the enormous injection of additional resources that the implementation of the 2030 Agenda is expected to require.