‘Urgent challenge’ to generate new jobs

Malta is so absorbed by the government’s political crisis that many may find little time to reflect a little on the raft of problems so many countries are facing today.

True, the sovereign debt crisis in the eurozone and the impact that the austerity measures have had on the people hit by the problem have dominated the news so heavily over the past months that few may be altogether unaware of the upheavals these are causing today. Yet, in the glut of news that new austerity measures whip up, it may sometimes be difficult to properly assess the magnitude of the difficulties.

The latest global employment trends, just published by the International Labour Organisation, throw the spotlight on what is by far one of the thorniest problems: unemployment. Its report for this year gives a harrowing picture, one that ought to make politicians in power take even greater action to ease a situation that is bringing about great misery to millions of people.

The ILO’s verdict is: The world faces an urgent challenge to come up with 600 million productive jobs over the next decade to generate sustainable growth and maintain social cohesion.

The trends highlighted by the organisation are unlikely to cause much sleeplessness in countries that are doing well but the story is quite different where joblessness is high, such as in Spain, for instance, where most of those out of work are young people.

Unemployment causes frustration and lowers morale. It should not be that difficult, therefore, to see why so many people have taken to the streets in a number of places to protest against what many consider to be inadequate action by governments to correct their countries’ economic situation.

In the words of the ILO, the world enters this year facing a serious jobs challenge and widespread decent work deficits: “After three years of continuous crisis conditions in global labour markets and against the prospect of a further deterioration of economic activity, there is a backlog of global unemployment of 200 million – an increase of 27 million since the start of the crisis. In addition, more than 400 million new jobs will be needed over the next decade to avoid a further increase in unemployment. Hence, to generate sustainable growth while maintaining social cohesion, the world must rise to the urgent challenge of creating 600 million productive jobs over the next decade, which would still leave 900 million workers living with their families below the $2 a day poverty line, largely in developing countries.”

Where does Malta stand in all this? In terms of unemployment, the island has in fact been doing well. According to the latest data published by Eurostat in Brussels, the island has managed to keep its unemployment levels among the lowest in the European Union.

In November last year, the jobless figure stood at 6.4 per cent, the fifth lowest among the 27 member states and almost four per cent below the average in the eurozone, which stood at 10.3 per cent. The figure remained the same over the previous month but fell by 0.4 per cent when compared to that in November 2010.

Unsurprisingly, the highest rates were registered in Spain and Greece. So, despite all the difficulties the country is facing today, Malta has not been doing badly after all. But things may change, especially if the country remains in the grip of a political crisis. The sooner this is resolved, the better it would be for all.