Thailand comes second in terms of low unemployment rate
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Thailand comes the second in terms of unemployment rate among Asean nations, with the unemployment rate of 0.8 per cent as of 2013, according to the International Labor Organisation (ILO).
Cambodia showed the lowest unemployment rate of 0.3 per cent.
Ranked No. 3 and No. 4 are Laos (1.4 per cent) and Vietnam (1.9 per cent).
The Philippines has the highest unemployment rate of of 7.3 per cent.
Ranking just below Philippines is Indonesia with 6 per cent, the study showed. Brunei has 3.7 per cent; Myanmar, 3.5 per cent; Malaysia, 3.2 per cent; and Singapore, 3.1 per cent.
In most of Southeast Asia, the unemployment rate showed a downward trend—from an average of 6 per cent between 2000 and 2008 to a projected 4.5 per cent in the next few years.
The ILO said global unemployment for 2013 reached 202 million, an increase of almost 5 million compared to year-ago level.
In the Philippines, the high unemployment rate will persist as the country has failed to translate the significant improvement in its gross domestic product in the past two years to employment opportunities for its unemployed workers, ILO Director General Guy Ryder said.
“Despite robust economic growth in excess of 6.8 per cent in the last two years, job growth has been subdued and the unemployment rate has remained at around 7 per cent throughout 2012 and 2013,” Ryder said.
The ILO official also noted the declining quality of employment in developing countries, including the Philippines, last year.
“In 2013, the number of workers in extreme poverty—living on less than $1.25 a day declined by only 2.7 per cent globally, one of the lowest rates over the past decade, with the exception of the immediate crisis years,” Ryder said.
He urged developing countries to implement reforms to generate more jobs, particularly for the youth sector, which accounts for most of the world’s unemployed workers.
An estimated 74.5 million workers under the age of 25 are now unemployed.
This can be attributed, according to Ryder, to restrictive policies in these countries, such as reductions in public spending and hikes in income and consumption taxes that continue to hinder job creation.
“What is urgently needed is policy rethink. Stronger efforts are needed to accelerate employment creation and to support enterprises that create jobs,” Ryder said.
He added that a switch to more employment-friendly policies and rising labour incomes would boost economic growth and job creation.
“It is crucial to strengthen social protection floors and promote transitions to formal employment,” he added.
The ILO has projected a bleak outlook for employment in the Philippines and other countries this year despite the expected slow improvement in the world economy.
Ryder, in a previous statement, said the ILO projected only 200 million new jobs would be created by 2018 worldwide due to weak employment growth in most countries.
“This is less than what is required to absorb the growing number of new entrants to the labour market,” he said.t.
