UN report: 21 million in forced labor worldwide

GENEVA (AP) — Forced labor produces illegal profits of $150 billion a year, the United Nations’ labor agency said Tuesday as it appealed for global eradication of the abuse.

The report by the International Labor Organization offered the agency’s fullest picture yet of an underground economy built on the involuntary toil of an estimated 21 million workers. It found that nearly two-thirds of the estimated profits, $99 billion, come from sexual exploitation, including prostitution and pornography.