Unemployment to reach 10% in 2010 in OECD countries

PARIS, June 23 (Xinhua) -- The rate of unemployment in the industrial world could reach 10 percent in 2010, the highest level since 1970s, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) warned on Tuesday.

Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea (ROK) Han Seung-soo addresses the opening ceremony of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Forum 2009 in Paris, capital of France, on June 23, 2009. (Xinhua/Zhang Yuwei)
Photo Gallery

The Paris based organization estimated that 57 million people could lose their job in its 30 member countries by the end of 2010, while it was 37.2 million jobless at the end of 2008.

"Unemployment will continue to weigh on national economies for a long time to come," OECD Secretary General Angel Guria said in a statement. "Previous downturns have taught us that the jobs recovery will lag a long way behind the pickup in the economic growth."

The OECD said it was working closely with its member countries "to adapt their policies to help the unemployed and avoid high unemployment levels becoming persistent."

The organization suggested governments to ensure financial safety nets for low income families and the unemployed. It also urged countries to make greater efforts to provide training opportunities to the unemployed.

In April, the OECD expected the rate of unemployment came to 7.8 percent.

Special Report: Global Financial Crisis

Obama says jobless number sobering but sees progress

Special
Report: Global Financial Crisis

U.S.President Barack Obama, followed by
Sharon Arnold, a representative from small business, steps in to deliver
remarks on job creation and job training at the Eisenhower Executive
Office Building in Washington, May 8, 2009. Obama announced the new steps
as "to give people across America who have lost their jobs the chance to
go back to school today to get retrained for the jobs and industries of
tomorrow". (Xinhua/Zhang Yan)
Photo
Gallery

WASHINGTON, May 8 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack
Obama said Friday that latest job loss data was "sobering," but he noted that
there have been "somewhat encouraging" improvements in the economy.

"While it's somewhat encouraging that this number is
lower than it's been in each of the past six months, it is still a sobering
toll," said Obama after the government reported that the jobless rate climbed to
8.9 percent in April, the highest since late 1983.

"It underscores the point that we're still in the
midst of a recession that was years in the making and will be months or even
years in the unmaking, and we should expect further job losses in the months to
come," said Obama at the White House.

But he also noted that there have been some signs
that the economy is stabilizing.

"Although we have a long way to go before we can put
this recession behind us, the gears of our economic engine do appear to slowly
-- to be slowly turning once again," said the president.

"Consumer spending and home sales are stabilizing,
construction spending is up for the first time in six months," he said. "So,
step by step, we're beginning to make progress."

U.S.President Barack Obama listens as
Maureen Pike tells her job training story at the Eisenhower Executive
Office Building in Washington, May 8, 2009. Obama announces the new steps
as "to give people across America who have lost their jobs the chance to
go back to school today to get retrained for the jobs and industries of
tomorrow".(Xinhua/Zhang Yan)
Photo Gallery

Obama announced a plan to help jobless people pursue
education and training without losing their unemployment benefits.

The 787-billion-U.S.-dollar stimulus package Obama
signed into law in February gave states billions of dollars to provide 26 extra
weeks of benefits for the unemployed who want job training.

But the law kept in place a rule that forced people
to give up their unemployment check if they stopped looking for work and decided
to go back to school.

Under the new plan announced on Friday, the Labor
Department will encourage states to update rules during economic downturns so
the unemployed can enroll in community colleges and other education or training
programs without giving up their benefits.

"Our unemployment insurance system should no longer
be a safety net, but a steppingstone to a new future," said Obama.

"It should offer folks educational opportunities they
wouldn't otherwise have, giving them the measurable and differentiated skills
they need to just -- not just get through hard times, but to get ahead when the
economy comes back," he added.

U.S. pace of job losses slows to 539,000 in April

WASHINGTON, May 8 (Xinhua) -- The pace
of job losses in the United States slowed in April to 539,000, the fewest
in six months, but the jobless rate climbed to 8.9 percent, the highest
since late 1983, the Labor Department reported Friday.

The April reading for job losses was not as deep as the 620,000layoffs expected by analysts but the increase in the unemployment rate matched their forecasts. Full story

Wall Street rises on upbeat jobless
data, stress test results

NEW YORK, May 8 (Xinhua) -- Wall Street settled sharply higher on Friday, after the U.S. government reported fewer job losses in April than market forecast and bank shares were boosted by stress test results.

The U.S. Labor Department posted on Friday that employers
cut 539,000 jobs last month, the fewest in six months. It is a big improvement
from a revised 699,000 job losses in March and less than the loss of 610,000
jobs analysts had expected. But the unemployment rate climbed to 8.9 percent,
the highest since late 1983. Full story

Gold edges lower as unexpected job
data ease economic worries


CHICAGO, May 8 (Xinhua) -- Gold futures on the COMEX Division of the New York
Mercantile Exchange ended slightly lower on Friday after gaining for 4 straight
sessions this week, as the economy concerns were further mollified by
better-than-expected job data. Silver and platinum fell, too.

Gold price for June delivery dropped 60 cents, or 0.5
percent, to settle at 914.90 U.S. dollars an ounce. Full story

Crude prices top $58 on
better-than-expected unemployment
data

NEW YORK, May 8 (Xinhua) --
Crude prices topped 58 U.S. dollars a barrel on Friday as better-than-expected
unemployment data boosted optimistic expectations on energy demand.

The U.S. Labor Department said that employers cut 539,000
jobs in April. That was less than expected and the smallest reduction in six
months. However, the U.S. unemployment rate climbed to 8.9 percent, the highest
since late 1983. Full story

U.S. pace of job losses slows down in April

WASHINGTON, May 8 (Xinhua) -- Pace of job losses in
the United States slowed down in April to 539,000, while jobless rate rose to
8.9 percent, the Labor Department reported Friday.

Unemployment, a real stress test for
U.S. economy

BEIJING, April 29 (Xinhua) -- The news of further layoffs
by big companies and the increasing concern about swine flu are casting new
shadows over the U.S. economy. As new college graduates are pouring into the
labor market, job creation becomes a real "Stress Test" for the U.S. government.
Full story

U.S. unemployment rate may reach 10%,
labor market expert warns

CHICAGO, April 9 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. unemployment will
continue to get worse and the rate of unemployment may reach 10 percent this
year, a U.S. labor market expert has predicted.

In an exclusive interview with Xinhua this week in
downtown Chicago, John A. Challenger, Chief Executive Officer of the Challenger,
Gray and Christmas Inc., said: "We haven't seen unemployment rate at this level
in 25 years and it looks like the rate will continue to get worse before it gets
better, so we may see an unemployment rate of 10 percent this year." Full story

U.S. unemployment rate rises to 8.5%
in March

WASHINGTON, April 3 (Xinhua) -- The unemployment rate in
the United States rose to 8.5 percent, the highest level since late 1983, as
employers slashed 663,000 jobs in March, the Labor Department reported Friday.

The March reading for unemployment rate matched analysts'
expectations but was above the 8.1 percent jobless rate in February, when
employers eliminated 651,000 jobs. Full story

More than 3,700 unemployed flock to
New York job fair

NEW YORK, March 5 (Xinhua) -- More than 3700 unemployed
people flocked to a job fair in New York Thursday.

The fair, sponsored by jobs Web site Monster.com, was one
of a string of huge career expos held in New York in the past couple of months.
Full story

Special
Report: Global Financial Crisis

Poland's unemployment down to 11% in April

WARSAW, May 8 (Xinhua) -- Poland's unemployment rate in April fell to 11 percent from 11.2 percent in March, Labor Minister Jolanta Fedak said here on Friday.

"I hope that in the coming months unemployment will stabilize at around 11 percent. But the second half of the year could be worse," Fedak was quoted by Polish news agency PAP as saying.

In the country of 38 million people, the number of jobless people amounted to 1,721,000 people, down 2.1 percent or 27,800 people from March, according to the minister.

The European Commission, the International Monetary Fund and some economists expect Poland's economy to contract this year, though by less than most of its regional peers.

Unemployment, a real stress test for U.S. economy

Special Report:Global Financial Crisis

¡¡by Xinhua writer Liu Lina

BEIJING, April 29 (Xinhua) -- The news of further layoffs by big companies and the increasing concern about swine flu are casting new shadows over the U.S. economy. As new college graduates are pouring into the labor market, job creation becomes a real "Stress Test" for the U.S. government.

JOBLESS NEWS KEEPS GOING

According to General Motor's updated viability plan unveiled on Monday, 21,000 hourly workers will be shed by 2010. Salaried employees are also expected to be cut further.

The struggling auto giant is not the only big employer that joined the laying off trend that has worsened since the outbreak of the global financial crisis last September. Leading Internet company Yahoo said on April 21 that it would cut 5 percent of its global workforce following a significant drop in the first quarter results. Apple Inc., the iPod maker was reported by Dow Jones News Agency on April 23 that it secretly dismissed about 1,600 full-time jobs.

"The unemployment rate will worsen. According to our research, the potential unemployment rate, which includes people who were finding jobs a year ago and many part-time workers, is about 15 percent," said John Challenger, CEO of Challenger, Gray Christmas, Inc., the U.S. premier outplacement consulting firm, in a recent interview with Xinhua.

The Labor Department said on April 23 that initial claims for unemployment compensation rose to a seasonally adjusted 640,000, up from a revised 613,000 the previous week. That was slightly above analysts' expectations of 635,000.

In another sign of labor market weakness, the number of people continuing to claim benefits rose to 6.13 million, setting a record for the 12th straight week, and the total jobless benefit rolls are the highest since January 1983.

A double digit unemployment rate in 2010 is widely predicted by economists.

"This summer will be a real hard time for the U.S. economy since nearly 6 million college graduates are entering the work force, inflicting a great pressure on the labor market," said Huang Jing, former senior researcher at the Washington-based Brookings Institute told Xinhua.

ECONOMIC OUTLOOK REMAINS CHALLENGING

In February, the Obama administration predicted that the economy would shrink 1.2 percent in 2009. Again, the forecast would probably fall behind the curve.

OECD projected at the beginning of April that the world economy would contract by 3 percent, and world trade would decrease 13.2 percent.

In the World Economic Outlook report released on April 22, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected that the U.S. economy would contract by 2.8 percent in 2009. This is the third consecutive times that the organization lowered its forecast for the U.S. economy within six months.

A latest survey released by the Wall Street Journal showed that economists forecasted that the economy will not be able to recover enough to bring down unemployment until the second half of 2010.

The economists' forecasts indicate that the peak in the unemployment rate is likely to coincide with the midterm elections that will decide which party controls Congress -- possibly bad news for Democrats. Even if the economy is growing, Americans still will be feeling the effects of the recession and could blame the incumbent.

The first-quarter gross domestic product report, due from the Commerce Department on Wednesday, could offer some clues about what a recovery might look like.

Economists think GDP shrank at an annual rate of 4.6 percent in the first quarter, one of the worst since World War II, but not as terrible as the 6.3 percent shrinkage in the fourth quarter of 2008.

¡¡¡¡NEW UNCERTAIN FACTORS ARISE

As people are wondering where the U.S. economy might go following the report of mixed economic index in April, an unexpected epidemic disease brings new uncertain factors to the world economy. The outbreak of swine flu triggers worldwide alert in recent days.

"Fears over swine flu threatened to knock a vulnerable global economy into deeper turmoil, hammering travel and tourism as nervous consumers and businesses delayed spending plans," reported the Wall Street Journal.

Spooked investors dumped airline shares Monday, fearing airline finances might suffer a new blow.

"This certainly could exacerbate the recession," said Sherman Chan, an economist with Moody's in Australia. "The next couple weeks will be crucial. If this (swine flu) persists it could become a more serious concern and really cripple the economy."

In a worst-case scenario, the U.S. economy would shrink by an extra 0.3 percent this year, on top of a predicted 3.5 percent decline, says Brian Bethune, economist at IHS Global Insight.

This will inevitably transmit into the labor market and exert more stress on the spending of consumers.

Although one of the crucial goals of President Obama's New Dealis to create jobs, historically, employment always lags behind the recovery of the economy from a recession.

One of the biggest worries facing economists is what would happen if unemployment rises beyond expectations and unleashes another wave of spending contractions and lower corporate profits.

At present, the world is expecting the final result, due on May4, of the stress test of the big U.S. banks, which seems to be not that positive as the share prices of Bank of America, Citi group and other banks fell Tuesday. However, the news about unemployment might be a bigger concern that deserves close watching.