Unemployment in the Eurozone will rise from the current 17.4 million to 22 million people over the next five years unles a change comes in the policies of all the Eurozone countries. That is according to theEurozone job crisis: trends and policy responses responses study by the International Labour Organisation (ILO). The consequences of the prolonged labor market recession will be particularly hard in the short term for young job seekers.
"Unless targeted measures are taken to increase real economy investments, the economic crisis will deepen and the employment recovery will never take off. We also need a global consensus on a new path for job-intensive growth and globalization," Juan Somavia, ILO Director-General, commented on the study results.
Currently, more than a third of people of working age is jobless in the Eurozone and long-term unemployment is on the rise. The number of the unemployed is increasing especially in Southern Europe. The situation does, however, not improve significantly even in Austria, Belgium and Germany - the only countries that have experienced employment growth since 2008. Austerity measures have weakened economic growth and increased the loss of jobs. ILO recommends:
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Repairing the financial system by resuming credit to small companies.
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Promoting investments and job seekers, especially the youngest generation.
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Addressing the differences in the competitiveness of the Eurozone countries.
The whole study is available for download on the ILO website here.
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