Unemployment will remain high in 2010 – ILO

The global unemployment is likely to remain high in 2010 as the number of jobless worldwide reached nearly 212 million in 2009 during the peak of the global financial crisis, according to the Global Employment Trends report of the International Labor Organization (ILO) on Tuesday.

The 2009 figure of 212 million unemployed worldwide is a far cry from the 2007 figure of 178 million.

According to the report, the Southeast Asia and the Pacific region, which includes the Philippines, have a number of economies that are highly dependent on foreign trade and investments.

“In the Philippines, the unemployment rate in 2009 only increased slightly to 7.5 percent. However, it could have been worse without stimulus measures taken by the government, workers and employers,” Linda Wirth, ILO director, said in the statement.

Also, the economies of the countries under the Southeast Asia and the Pacific region were the most badly hit by the financial crisis last year, the statement said.

“The report warns us of a W-shaped recovery. It is possible for the economy and employment to grow but the rate of growth is likely to slow or dip, so it is crucial to have job protection policies in place,” Wirth said further.

The report said coordinated stimulus measures managed to avert greater social and economic catastrophe, but millions of men and women are still jobless and living without unemployment benefits or any form of social protection.

Since 2008, the number of vulnerable employment in Southeast Asia and Pacific region has been estimated to increase by up to five million.

The regional unemployment, on the other hand, rose by up to 5.6 percent in 2009. It is expected to remain steady this 2010, the ILO statement said.

More than half of the workers in Southeast Asia and the Pacific live on less than $2 a day while a quarter lives on less than $1.25 a day.

Wirth commented: “The issue is not just open unemployment but vulnerable employment, underemployment and a rise in the number of working poor as income shrink. We see workers living on the margin and at risk of falling further into poverty. Many workers who have lost their jobs in export-oriented industries cannot afford to remain unemployed and instead will take any form of employment in the informal sector to have some income, perhaps in farming or street vending.”

The ILO report recommended viable means of basic social protection schemes for the unemployed. This, the report said, will help cushion the poor against the effect of the dips that the economy will take this year.

Also, the report from the labor group said that the number of unemployed youth worldwide increased to 13.4 percent in 2009 from 2007. This is the largest spike in youth unemployment since 1991, the report said.

In the Southeast and Pacific region, youth unemployment is far greater than adult unemployment. The region’s youth unemployment reached 15.3 percent in 2009 compared to the 3.4-percent rate for adults.

“Young workers already faced substantial difficulties accessing decent and productive jobs prior to the economic crisis and the situation for youth has worsened as a result of the economic downturn,” the report said. –BERNICE CAMILLE V. BAUZON Reporter, Manila Times