DEVELOPMENT REPORT - World Jobs Report

By Jill Moss

This is the VOA Special English DEVELOPMENT REPORT.

The United Nations says at least five-hundred-million new jobs will be needed during the next ten years to help support the world's workforce. The U-N International Labor Office published the World Employment Report a few months ago. It says the new jobs will be needed to help reduce unemployment around the world by half.

The International Labor Office estimates that one-hundred-sixty-million people did not have jobs at the end of last year. Most of these people were seeking jobs for the first time. Among them, about one-hundred-ten-million live in developing countries.

The report also estimates about five-hundred-million workers around the world have jobs, but they are not paid enough money. They earn less than one American dollar a day. This is called "underemployment."

It means a worker earns less money than what he or she needs to survive. The International Labor Office says that nearly all underemployed people live in developing countries.

The rate at which people enter the world's workforce is expected to slow during the next ten years. However, the U-N estimates about four-hundred-sixty-million people will join the world's workforce by Two-Thousand-Ten. More than half of these new workers will be from Asia.

Experts say the need for jobs depends greatly on whether the world economy continues to expand. If it does, the International Labor Office says information technology and communications will offer the most promising chances for work. Duncan Campbell is the economist who supervised the World Employment Report. He says technology is important. But there are also concerns.

Many developing countries do not have technology resources like those in industrial countries. Mr. Campbell says developing countries will have to take steps to bridge this digital divide. He says lack of education is the main reason why people in developing countries do not use technology. The International Labor Organization is urging developing countries to create new public policies. The goal is to find ways to link more people to computers and information technology.

This VOA Special English DEVELOPMENT REPORT was written by Jill Moss.