Job creation urgent to ward off social unrest
A net gain of 80 million jobs is needed in the Northern Hemisphere over the next two years to stave off social unrest although experts expect only half that number to come online.
That is the warning from researchers at the International Institute for Labour Studies in its World of Work 2011 report forecasting labour trends for the next five years.
Released by the International Labour Organisation, the World of Work report claims 27 million new jobs are needed in the advanced economies alone.
Researchers claim that if governments take a business-as-usual approach, the world economy would remain unstable, employment growth stunted and social unrest would continue to erupt.
The ILO forecast for growing social unrest comes at a time when protests have been staged from Athens to New York City with more predicted.
The report claims drivers behind social unrest include unemployment, income inequality and a perception of injustice and social exclusion. Advanced economies feature a highly educated but dissatisfied population with ready access to information via social media and the internet. Other drivers include government introduced budget cuts and austerity measures; higher food prices; and a heavy handed response to protestors.
“The next few months will be crucial for avoiding a dramatic downturn in employment
and a further significant aggravation of social unrest,” warn the report authors.
“The world economy, which had started to recover from the global crisis, has entered a new phase of economic weakening. Economic growth in major advanced economies has come to a halt and some countries have re-entered recession, notably in Europe. Growth has also slowed down in large emerging and developing countries.”
“Moreover, government job and income-support programmes, which proved so successful in cushioning job losses and supporting job retention practices in firms at the start of the global crisis, may be scaled down as part of the fiscal austerity measures adopted in a growing number of countries.
