New thinking on rural employment is needed to create more and better rural jobs

   * Growth in agriculture is essential, and growth in the rural non-farm economy is especially important.

   * Job prospects improve as education, skills, health and early nutrition levels rise.

   * Rural-urban migration (whether temporary or permanent) opens new opportunities and also helps tighten rural labour markets.

   * With rising productivity and wages, it becomes easier to push for better labour standards, to end to child labour and correct gender inequalities.