Governments should make the promotion of employment and decent work the cornerstone of their economic and social policies, a latest UN report said Wednesday.
"Employment and decent work need to be not a by-product but a central objective of development strategies," said Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Sha Zukang at a press briefing to mark the launch of Report of the World Social Situation 2007: The Employment Imperative.
"We see a number of worrisome trends," Sha said. "Globally, despite robust rates of economic growth, employment creation is lagging behind growth of the working-age population."
He further pointed out that from 1996 to 2006, global output expanded by 3.8 percent per year, yet unemployment rates increased from 6 to 6.3 percent.
"Economic growth and job growth are not trending together, to the detriment of our societies and citizens," Sha noted, adding that employment conditions are getting worse meanwhile.
The report calls for making the promotion of employment and decent work the cornerstone of government policies, and for establishing basic universal social protection in order to address recent developments in the world of work.
According to the report, "decent work for all, rather than economic growth per se, or even simply creating jobs, should be placed at the center of economic and social policymaking."
A "powerful lesson," says the report, is that liberalization can benefit ordinary citizens, but only after "the establishment of institutions, legislation and regulations that can limit its adverse effects."
"Decent work for all," the report concludes, "is not a policy option, but an imperative."
The 2007 Report on the World Social Situation is part of a series of reports on the subject dating from 1952. The main purpose of the biennial series is to provide a foundation for intergovernmental discussion and policy analysis.
Source: Xinhua
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