Nowadays, unemployment is widespread both in developing and developed countries, and particularly affects populations and systems in countries facing humanitarian crises : companies loose profitability, local markets are partially or completely destroyed, infrastructures are not working properly. The workforce is also weakened and may not fit employers' requirements .

Employability includes all sets of transferable skills and qualifications that reinforce the ability of people to take advantage of education and training opportunities that are presented to them in order to find or keep a decent job. 

Inequalities in accessing job opportunities are important, and are even more acute in times of crisis. Women do usually experience bigger challenges than men to find out a decent job or start their business, as they are often assigned to household activities and care practices. Gender gaps with regard to employment are particularly high in the Middle-East, Northern Africa and Southern Asia. The youth also suffers from poor access to qualified jobs. The global youth unemployment rate reaches 13.2%, when it "only" affects 5% for the overall population. The rate of young women unemployment can be twice as high as for young men in some areas. Discrimination also hit people living with disabilities, displaced populations and refugees.

Action Againt Hunger (ACF) considers employment, business creation and restoration as fully complementary, and has developed a solid expertise thanks to the development and implementation of various employability projects, throughout the developing world. ACF has been particularly investigating the link between individual psychosocial status and employability, and developed an operational approach that fosters an integrating programming between livelihoods and psychosocial supports. Improving someone's employability has a positive effect on his/her psychosocial status, and an individual with a good psychosocial status is more likely to access and keep a decent job, or create his/her own business. This approach proved particularly effective with crisis-affected populations in the Middle-East and Sub-Saharan Africa.