Tuesday, September 13, 2005
[IWS] ILO: ASIA & PACIFIC 2005 Labour & Social TRENDS [12 September 2005]
IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________
International Labour Office
Economic and Social Analysis Unit
Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok
Labour and Social Trends in Asia and the Pacific 2005 [12 September 2005]
http://www.ilo.org/public/english/region/asro/bangkok/download/14tharm/rep_trends.pdf
[full-text, 78 pages]
Press Release 12 September 2005
http://www.ilo.org/public/english/region/asro/bangkok/public/releases/yr2005/pr05_24.htm
BANGKOK (ILO News) -- Despite encouraging progress in cutting poverty and improving the working lives of people in Asia under the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), unemployment reached a new record high in the region while jobs growth remained disappointing, says a new report from the International Labour Office (ILO) issued here today.
Whats more the report, Labour and Social Trends in Asia and the Pacific 2005, says new data show that some three quarters of the worlds poor or close to 2 billion people subsisting on less than the equivalent of US$ 2 a daylive in Asia .
The new study was issued on the eve of the United Nations World Summit in New York to be held on 14-16 September. The summit is the biggest gathering ever to be mounted by the UN, and will discuss efforts to reduce poverty, among other issues. A host of key Asian leaders are expected among some 160 heads of state who will be attending.
The new ILO study provides a stark analysis of a growing employment gap in the Asia region, says the creation of new jobs has failed to keep pace with the regions impressive economic growth. Whats more, the ILO report says that between 2003 and 2004 employment in Asia and the Pacific increased by a disappointing 1.6 per cent, or by 25 million jobs, to a total of 1.588 billion jobs, compared to the strong economic growth rate of over 7 per cent. During the same period, the total unemployed edged up by half a million reaching 78 million, the fifth consecutive year-on-year increase since 1999.
In addition, underemployment remains widespread. It manifests itself in many forms: millions are working involuntary less than full time or are taking jobs below their qualifications or skills. And many public enterprises are overstaffed.
Young people aged 15 to 24 are bearing the brunt of this employment deficit, the report says, accounting for a disproportionate 49.1 per cent of the regions jobless although they make up only 20.8 per cent of the labour force. Generally, the ILO said youth unemployment is two to three times that of adults. Moreover, there is a cruel irony in the co-existence of youth unemployment with child labour: millions young people are jobless or underutilized while many jobs are filled by children who should be attending schools.
The ILO estimates that halving youth unemployment would increase GDP, by up to 2.5 per cent in East Asia , by up to 6.7 per cent in South Asia and up to 7.4 per cent in South-East Asia
While the regions countries have made huge strides in reducing poverty and the prospects are good for meeting the first MDG of halving extreme poverty (those living on less than US$1 a day), the so-called working poverty remains a serious problem, according to the ILO report. The working poor are those who often work very hard and long hours but do not earn enough to lift themselves and their families out of poverty. Some 355 million in the region receive inadequate incomes from their labour, which leaves them and their families below the US$1 a day poverty line. If the poverty line is raised to US$2 a day, Asia has about one billion working poor (more than three-quarters of the global total).
It isnt just the lack of jobs available that should concern us, the quality of jobs and of opportunities is just as important, said Mr. Shinichi Hasegawa, Regional Director, ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific. Jobs which do not allow people to earn enough to keep themselves and their families, or work that is unsafe our unhealthy, is no solution to poverty. This report shows that the problems spotlighted by the MDGs are all interlinked poverty cant be tackled unless issues as diverse as child labour, gender equality, youth employability are addressed.
Questions also hang over the prospects of achieving the other MDGs related to work and workplace issues.
Progress towards achieving universal primary education by 2015 (MDG 2) has slowed. The ILO said 48 million primary school age children in the region are not enrolled in school out of a global total of 103 million. The majority of these children are working. The report says there are clear links between continuing child labour and poverty.
Many countries, especially those in South Asia , are also unlikely to meet the third MDG on gender equality and the empowerment of women (MDG3). Fewer girls attend primary and secondary schools than boys. Young women suffer more unemployment than young men -- a particularly worrying trend in some countries where female labour force participation is still low. Women in these countries have limited employment opportunities and, if employed, generally earn less than their male counterparts.
_____________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
Stuart Basefsky *
Director, IWS News Bureau *
Institute for Workplace Studies *
Cornell/ILR School *
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor *
New York, NY 10016 *
*
Telephone: (607) 255-2703 *
Fax: (607) 255-9641 *
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu *
****************************************
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies
School of Industrial & Labor Relations
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor
New York, NY 10016
________________________________________________________________________
International Labour Office
Economic and Social Analysis Unit
Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok
Labour and Social Trends in Asia and the Pacific 2005 [12 September 2005]
http://www.ilo.org/public/english/region/asro/bangkok/download/14tharm/rep_trends.pdf
[full-text, 78 pages]
Press Release 12 September 2005
http://www.ilo.org/public/english/region/asro/bangkok/public/releases/yr2005/pr05_24.htm
BANGKOK (ILO News) -- Despite encouraging progress in cutting poverty and improving the working lives of people in Asia under the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), unemployment reached a new record high in the region while jobs growth remained disappointing, says a new report from the International Labour Office (ILO) issued here today.
Whats more the report, Labour and Social Trends in Asia and the Pacific 2005, says new data show that some three quarters of the worlds poor or close to 2 billion people subsisting on less than the equivalent of US$ 2 a daylive in Asia .
The new study was issued on the eve of the United Nations World Summit in New York to be held on 14-16 September. The summit is the biggest gathering ever to be mounted by the UN, and will discuss efforts to reduce poverty, among other issues. A host of key Asian leaders are expected among some 160 heads of state who will be attending.
The new ILO study provides a stark analysis of a growing employment gap in the Asia region, says the creation of new jobs has failed to keep pace with the regions impressive economic growth. Whats more, the ILO report says that between 2003 and 2004 employment in Asia and the Pacific increased by a disappointing 1.6 per cent, or by 25 million jobs, to a total of 1.588 billion jobs, compared to the strong economic growth rate of over 7 per cent. During the same period, the total unemployed edged up by half a million reaching 78 million, the fifth consecutive year-on-year increase since 1999.
In addition, underemployment remains widespread. It manifests itself in many forms: millions are working involuntary less than full time or are taking jobs below their qualifications or skills. And many public enterprises are overstaffed.
Young people aged 15 to 24 are bearing the brunt of this employment deficit, the report says, accounting for a disproportionate 49.1 per cent of the regions jobless although they make up only 20.8 per cent of the labour force. Generally, the ILO said youth unemployment is two to three times that of adults. Moreover, there is a cruel irony in the co-existence of youth unemployment with child labour: millions young people are jobless or underutilized while many jobs are filled by children who should be attending schools.
The ILO estimates that halving youth unemployment would increase GDP, by up to 2.5 per cent in East Asia , by up to 6.7 per cent in South Asia and up to 7.4 per cent in South-East Asia
While the regions countries have made huge strides in reducing poverty and the prospects are good for meeting the first MDG of halving extreme poverty (those living on less than US$1 a day), the so-called working poverty remains a serious problem, according to the ILO report. The working poor are those who often work very hard and long hours but do not earn enough to lift themselves and their families out of poverty. Some 355 million in the region receive inadequate incomes from their labour, which leaves them and their families below the US$1 a day poverty line. If the poverty line is raised to US$2 a day, Asia has about one billion working poor (more than three-quarters of the global total).
It isnt just the lack of jobs available that should concern us, the quality of jobs and of opportunities is just as important, said Mr. Shinichi Hasegawa, Regional Director, ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific. Jobs which do not allow people to earn enough to keep themselves and their families, or work that is unsafe our unhealthy, is no solution to poverty. This report shows that the problems spotlighted by the MDGs are all interlinked poverty cant be tackled unless issues as diverse as child labour, gender equality, youth employability are addressed.
Questions also hang over the prospects of achieving the other MDGs related to work and workplace issues.
Progress towards achieving universal primary education by 2015 (MDG 2) has slowed. The ILO said 48 million primary school age children in the region are not enrolled in school out of a global total of 103 million. The majority of these children are working. The report says there are clear links between continuing child labour and poverty.
Many countries, especially those in South Asia , are also unlikely to meet the third MDG on gender equality and the empowerment of women (MDG3). Fewer girls attend primary and secondary schools than boys. Young women suffer more unemployment than young men -- a particularly worrying trend in some countries where female labour force participation is still low. Women in these countries have limited employment opportunities and, if employed, generally earn less than their male counterparts.
_____________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
Stuart Basefsky
Director, IWS News Bureau
Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell/ILR School
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Telephone: (607) 255-2703
Fax: (607) 255-9641
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu
****************************************
# posted by SBasefsky : 6:38 AM
