No reduction in joblessness globally: UN

Warning that macroeconomic and social policies have not been successful in lowering unemployment rates to desirable levels, a UN report says that while globalisation has helped highly skilled people to earn high salaries, those with low skills have been hit hard.

Added to it, the report stresses, the employment conditions are getting worse with increasing economic insecurity among most of the workers and increasing levels of inequality in the societies.

It asks the governments to make the promotion of employment and decent work the cornerstone of their economic and social policies.

"Employment and decent work need to be not a by-product but a central objective of development strategies," said Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Sha Zukang at a press briefing launching Report of the World ocial Situation 2007: The Employment Imperative.

"We see a number of worrisome trends," Sha said.

"Globally, despite robust rates of economic growth, employment creation is lagging behind growth of the working-age population. From 1996 to 2006, global output expanded by 3.8 per cent per year, yet unemployment rates increased from 6 to 6.3 per cent. Economic growth and job growth are not trending together, to the detriment of our societies and citizens."

Meanwhile, he said employment conditions are getting worse, he said.

"There is a greater economic insecurity for most workers and greater levels of most forms of inequality in society. Workers with low education and low skills have been hit particularly hard."

Johan Schvlvinck, director of the Division for Social Policy and Development, said "the report finds employment increasingly dominated by the service sector, with a global trend towards informal and casual forms of employment.

"Economic liberalization has not necessarily stimulated economic growth, as policy-makers had hoped for," he added. "Rather, volatility in macroeconomic performance and employment has increased as a result of economic reforms, especially those relating to international trade and financial liberalisation."

At the same time, emphasis on fiscal prudence led to general reductions in public expenditures aimed a promoting growth and employment, further exacerbating job insecurity.

Income distribution has shifted towards capital at the expense of labour, Schvlvinck noted, creating wage differentials that contributed to raising inequality. Thus "redistributive policies should be implemented to expand access to productive assets and employment opportunities."

With public health care on the retreat and pensions and social benefits under pressure, "a consensus is emerging that the state should take the responsibility to establish a universal minimal level of social protection."