OECD Unemployment Rate 8%, Jobless Number Up Nearly 50% In Last Five Years The global economy has witnessed a weak recovery in last few years and has not generated enough jobs to make a serious dent in unemployment in many OECD countries. In April 2013, 8% of the OECD labour force was unemployed representing over 48 million people, almost 16 million more than in 2007, according to a latest update from the OECD. Concerns are growing in many countries about the strains those persistently high levels of unemployment are placing on the social fabric. Over five years have passed since the onset of the global financial and economic crisis but an uneven and weak recovery has not generated enough jobs to make a serious dent in unemployment in many OECD countries. While there have been some encouraging signs of a recovery in employment growth in the United States, this has been offset by the return of recession in the euro zone with an associated further rise in its unemployment rate to a new record of 12.1% in April 2013. According to the most recent OECD economic projections (May 2013), unemployment in the OECD area is unlikely to fall below its current level until well into 2014. Unemployment benefits have acted as crucial automatic stabilisers during the crisis, limiting the negative impact of job and earnings losses on household incomes. They should be allowed to continue to play this role. However, a growing number of individuals are experiencing long spells of joblessness in many countries and so risk losing their entitlement to unemployment benefits and falling back on less generous social assistance. The OECD says that it is important that this assistance adequately supports families in hardship, and minimum-income benefits may need to be strengthened, especially where long-term unemployment remains very high and those affected have little access to other forms of support.
Posted on: Wed, 17 Jul 2013 10:41:17 +0000
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