World Unemployment To Remain High In 2010, ILO Says

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World unemployment hit a record high in 2009 and is likely to remain at an elevated level through 2010, the International Labour Office forecast showed Tuesday.

The number of jobless worldwide reached nearly 212 million in 2009 following an unprecedented increase of 34 million compared to 2007, on the eve of the global crisis, the ILO said in its annual Global Employment Trends report. The jobless rate rose to 6.6% in 2009, up 0.9 percentage points from 2007.

In the developed economies and European Union, unemployment is projected to increase by an additional 3 million people in 2010. Regional unemployment rate is seen at 8.9%. Meanwhile, joblessness will stabilize at present levels, or decline only slightly, in other regions, the ILO foresees. It said global youth unemployment increased by 10.2 million in 2009 compared to 2007, the largest rise since 1991. The youth unemployment rate stood at 13.4%, an increase of 1.6 percentage points relative to 2007.

Further, the report revealed that there were variations in the employment impact of the crisis between regions and countries as well as in labor market recovery prospects.

"Avoiding a jobless recovery is the political priority of today," ILO Director-General Juan Somavia said. "We need the same policy decisiveness that saved banks now applied to save and create jobs and livelihoods of people."

(Market News Provided by RTTNews)