World Bank: 600 Million Jobs Need To Be Created To Sustain Same Level Of Employment Over Next 15 Years
Reuters
People queue to enter an unemployed registry office in Madrid Tuesday Oct. 2, 2012. The number of people registered as unemployed in Spain rose by a little under 80,000 in September as summer tourism season came to an end taking the jobless toll to 4.71 million. Spain is in its second recession in three years with an overall unemployment rate of nearly 25 percent. It is debating whether to seek a bailout for its economy similar to those already granted to Greece, Ireland and Portugal.
* Growth in jobs can still leave citizens living in poverty
* More jobs for women drive education, health gains
* More jobs for young men can build social cohesion
By Anna Yukhananov
WASHINGTON, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Creating jobs can help governments improve the lot of their citizens, but some jobs have more impact than others when it comes to helping societies move ahead, the World Bank said in a report on Monday.
As countries around the world struggle with high unemployment, especially among youth, the World Bank cautioned that economic growth alone cannot create jobs that improve people's lives and reduce conflict, contrary to conventional wisdom.
"It is not just the number of jobs, it is also what people do," said Martin Rama, the director of the World Bank's annual World Development Report. This year, the report focused on how employment impacts overall well-being for societies, looking at examples culled from more than 800 surveys and censuses.
As an example, Rama pointed to Mozambique, where a commodities boom has fueled one of the highest growth rates in sub-Saharan Africa. But more than 80 percent of the country's citizens work in agriculture, where poverty rates remain stubbornly high.
Governments should focus on boosting employment in areas that would have the most positive spillover effects on society as a whole. For example, more jobs for women has been tied to greater investment in education and health, while reducing employment barriers for young men could improve social cohesion.