Jobless rate to stay high until end-2013

The unemployment rate in advanced world economies will remain high at nearly 8.0 percent until the end of next year with about 48 million people jobless, the OECD said on Tuesday. The "joblessness rate is forecast to remain high at 7.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013, close to the 7.9 percent rate in May 2012," a report by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said. "To get employment rates back to pre-crisis levels, about 14 million jobs need to be created in the OECD area," it said, adding that 48 million people were out of work across the 34-nation zone in May. "In the euro area, unemployment rose further in May to an all-time peak of 11.1 percent," it said, referring to the 17 nations which share the currency. "The recent deterioration in the economic outlook is very bad news for the labour market," said OECD Secretary General Angel Gurria. "It is imperative that governments use every possible means at their disposal to help jobseekers, especially young people, by removing barriers to job creation and investing in their education and skills. "The young are at most risk of long-term damage to their careers and livelihoods. Targeting the most cost-effective policies is essential," it said, stressing that most employers were only hiring on short-term contracts now. The report cited variations across the zone with unemployment stable at 8.25 percent in the United States. The Spanish jobless rate at 24.6 percent was the highest in the OECD and double-digit figures were also reported in Estonia, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and the Slovak Republic. The OECD said most emerging economies apart from South Africa weathered the financial crisis well but there has been a slowdown in some rapidly growing economies, especially Brazil, China and India.