Joblessness Persists Even as Economies Recover

Independent Films, Web Series, Politics

"While the global economy is exhibiting the statistics of growth, even verging on robust, it is not a blanket recovery experienced in all geographic and economic sectors. Unemployment/joblessness especially remains a problem now to starting to resemble a chronic illness in a wide range malady in a wide range of countries." by Ambassador Muhamed Sacirbey

The International Labour Organization (ILO) warned today in Geneva during its annual employment trends survey that weak recovery in jobs was likely to continue in 2011, especially in developed economies.

The “Global Employment Trends 2011: The challenge of a jobs recovery” report points to a highly differentiated recovery in labour markets, with persistently high levels of unemployment as well as growing discouragement in developed countries, and with employment growth and continued high levels of vulnerable employment and working poverty in developing regions. These trends stand in stark contrast to the recovery seen in several key macroeconomic indicators: global GDP, private consumption, investment, and international trade and equity markets have all recovered in 2010, surpassing pre-crisis levels.

José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, ILO’s Employment sector Executive Director said that it was clear that in 2011 the world would continue to face a big challenge for jobs recovery.

Despite a sharp rebound in economic growth for many countries, official global unemployment stood at 205 million in 2010, essentially unchanged from 2009, and 27.6 million more than on the eve of the global economic crisis in 2007. The ILO projects a global unemployment rate of 6.1 per cent, equivalent to 203.3 million unemployed, through 2011.

The report shows that 55 per cent of the increase in global unemployment between 2007 and 2010 occurred in the Developed Economies and European Union (EU) region, while the region only accounts for 15 per cent of the world’s labour force. In several economies in the developing world, such as Brazil, Kazakhstan, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Uruguay, unemployment rates have actually fallen below their pre-crisis levels.

The report also finds there were 630 million workers (20.7 per cent of all workers in the world) living with their families at the extreme 1.25 dollars a day level in 2009. This corresponds to an additional 40 million working poor, 1.6 percentage points higher than projected on the basis of pre-crisis trends.

Salazar-Xirinachs said that a narrow focus on reducing deficits in the short run without addressing the challenge of job creation would further weaken employment prospects and threaten the recovery. Therefore, he said that it was crucial to maintain or enhance fiscal and other measures that boost employment wherever possible.

Worldwide, 78 million young people were unemployed in 2010, well above the pre-crisis level of 73.5 million in 2007, but down from 80 million in 2009. The unemployment rate among youth aged 15-24 stood at 12.6 per cent in 2010, 2.6 times the adult rate of unemployment. However, the ILO also warned that among 56 countries with available data, there were 1.7 million fewer youth in the labor market than expected based on pre-crisis trends, and that such discouraged workers are not counted among the unemployed because they are not actively seeking work.

Transcripts / Production notes / Scripts

The International Labour Organization (ILO) warned today in Geneva during its annual employment trends survey that weak recovery in jobs was likely to continue in 2011, especially in developed economies.

The “Global Employment Trends 2011: The challenge of a jobs recovery” report points to a highly differentiated recovery in labour markets, with persistently high levels of unemployment as well as growing discouragement in developed countries, and with employment growth and continued high levels of vulnerable employment and working poverty in developing regions. These trends stand in stark contrast to the recovery seen in several key macroeconomic indicators: global GDP, private consumption, investment, and international trade and equity markets have all recovered in 2010, surpassing pre-crisis levels.

José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, ILO’s Employment sector Executive Director said that it was clear that in 2011 the world would continue to face a big challenge for jobs recovery.

Despite a sharp rebound in economic growth for many countries, official global unemployment stood at 205 million in 2010, essentially unchanged from 2009, and 27.6 million more than on the eve of the global economic crisis in 2007. The ILO projects a global unemployment rate of 6.1 per cent, equivalent to 203.3 million unemployed, through 2011.

The report shows that 55 per cent of the increase in global unemployment between 2007 and 2010 occurred in the Developed Economies and European Union (EU) region, while the region only accounts for 15 per cent of the world’s labour force. In several economies in the developing world, such as Brazil, Kazakhstan, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Uruguay, unemployment rates have actually fallen below their pre-crisis levels.

The report also finds there were 630 million workers (20.7 per cent of all workers in the world) living with their families at the extreme 1.25 dollars a day level in 2009. This corresponds to an additional 40 million working poor, 1.6 percentage points higher than projected on the basis of pre-crisis trends.

Salazar-Xirinachs said that a narrow focus on reducing deficits in the short run without addressing the challenge of job creation would further weaken employment prospects and threaten the recovery. Therefore, he said that it was crucial to maintain or enhance fiscal and other measures that boost employment wherever possible.

Worldwide, 78 million young people were unemployed in 2010, well above the pre-crisis level of 73.5 million in 2007, but down from 80 million in 2009. The unemployment rate among youth aged 15-24 stood at 12.6 per cent in 2010, 2.6 times the adult rate of unemployment. However, the ILO also warned that among 56 countries with available data, there were 1.7 million fewer youth in the labor market than expected based on pre-crisis trends, and that such discouraged workers are not counted among the unemployed because they are not actively seeking work.

Tags

• unemployment
• joblessness
• ILO
• recovery
• economy

Directors:

• Muhamed Sacirbey, UNTV

Producers:

• Susan Sacirbey