NREGS to reduce effect of job loss: ILO

There is bad news on the job creation front as the International Labour Organisation (ILO) on Friday came out with its projections for rest of the year..

There is bad news on the job creation front as the International Labour Organisation (ILO) on Friday came out with its projections for rest of the year,predicting a further rise in unemployment because of the economic crisis.

In its report on global employment trends,the ILO revised its unemployment projections from 210 million to 239 million people,making it the worst global performance in terms of employment creation.

Without naming any particular country,the ILO observed that,South Asia will have the largest number of working poor,382 million workers (61 per cent of the workforce).

The ILO report,however,said India is less susceptible to a severe economic downturn than more export-oriented economies because of its large domestic market.

Large-scale social protection schemes such as National Rural Employment Guarantee programme should help to offset the potential shock to the poorest. This is essential,as more than 46 per cent of workers were estimated to be living with their families on less than US$ 1.25 per day in 2007,with an alarming 80 per cent living on less than US$ 2 per day, it said.

The ILO report comes days after a quick survey done by the Labour Ministry estimated that employment in selected export-oriented sectors has increased in the first quarter of 2009.

The study found that employment has risen by about a quarter million during January-March as compared to half a million job losses in the previous quarter.

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The study concluded that the number of jobs has increased by 3.08 per cent in the gems and jewellery sector,by 0.96 per cent in textiles,by 0.83 per cent in IT,0.28 per cent in handloom,0.1 per cent in automobiles. However,the number of jobs has dropped in leather (2.76 per cent),metals (0.56 per cent),and transport (0.36 per cent) sectors.

On job losses,newly-appointed Labour Minister Mallikarjun Kharge,who assumed charge on Friday,said,All these issues will be thought of.

Three months ago,the ILO had predicted that global unemployment is likely to increase by 24 million to 52 million in 2009.

The projections indicate that 200 million workers are at risk of joining the ranks of people living on less than US$ 2 per day between 2007 and 2009,it said. The ILO has called for a global jobs pact to deal with the unprecedented crisis.