Unemployment by gender | age | Unemployment by gender | age |
The global employment situation keeps deteriorating at an alarming speed. Since the 2008 crisis, another 25 million persons are actively seeking a job that they cannot find. ILO (International Labor Organization) estimates at 202 million the number of unemployed worldwide in 2013 — equivalent to 125% of the total US labor force. Reality is even uglier. ILO has been trying to track the number of the so-called discouraged workers — people without a job and available for work but who gave up all hopes and resigned themselves to remain unemployed. The estimate for 2013 is a minimum of 23 million, thus pushing the total number of unemployed plus discouraged job seekers up to more than 225 million.
The problem is compounded by a gender issue, since female workers are at a disadvantage, with an unemployment rate of 6.4%, versus 5.7% for males. Notwithstanding all initiatives taken with a view to fill the job gap between genders, female unemployment keeps growing at the average annual rate of 1.21% against the slower rate of 1.09% for males.
Paradoxically, while working-age cohorts, driven by demographic growth, swell at the average annual rate of 1.5%, and while jobs evaporate at an accelerated pace as a result of productivity gains and of a lengthy economic downturn, most policy makers became enamored of a fashionable regulatory trend by which the working age ceiling is moved up to 65 and 70 years of age, and work schedules are extended by increasing both the number of working hours per week, and the number of working days per year. Inevitably, more and more hands become available to fill fewer and fewer jobs.
Unemployment is a social cancer that destroys the sense of belongingness and group cohesiveness, wipes out self-esteem and dignity, dissolves individual resolve and competences, and ultimately throws people into misery. The result is an impoverished society in the present, and a shattered workforce unable to perform in the future. This result fits nobody's best interests. To make the case worse, unemployment seems likely to become an incurable malady
Unemployment by gender | |||||||||||
Year |
Unemployed |
Discouraged Job-seekers ¹ |
|||||||||
Total |
Males |
Females |
|||||||||
Active Population |
Unemployed |
Percent |
Active Population |
Unemployed |
Percent |
Active Population |
Unemployed |
Percent |
Total million |
Percent ² |
|
| 1998 | 2,682.9 | 170.3 | 6.3% | 1,614 | 98.8 | 6.1% | 1,069 | 71.5 | 6.7% | ||
| 1999 | 2,734.9 | 176.5 | 6.5% | 1,644 | 102.5 | 6.2% | 1,091 | 73.9 | 6.8% | ||
| 2000 | 2,778.1 | 176.7 | 6.4% | 1,669 | 102.7 | 6.2% | 1,109 | 74 | 6.7% | ||
| 2001 | 2,823.0 | 180.8 | 6.4% | 1,694 | 105.7 | 6.2% | 1,129 | 75.1 | 6.7% | ||
| 2002 | 2,871.3 | 186.4 | 6.5% | 1,720 | 108.6 | 6.3% | 1,151 | 77.8 | 6.8% | ||
| 2003 | 2,921.4 | 190.8 | 6.5% | 1,749 | 111 | 6.3% | 1,173 | 79.8 | 6.8% | ||
| 2004 | 2,976.3 | 192.5 | 6.5% | 1,780 | 109.9 | 6.2% | 1,196 | 82.6 | 6.9% | 4.6 | 0.2% |
| 2005 | 3,031.6 | 186 | 6.1% | 1,811 | 105.4 | 5.8% | 1,220 | 80.5 | 6.6% | 4.7 | 0.2% |
| 2006 | 3,072.5 | 179.8 | 5.9% | 1,837 | 102.2 | 5.6% | 1,235 | 77.6 | 6.3% | 4.9 | 0.2% |
| 2007 | 3,112.9 | 170 | 5.5% | 1,863 | 97.7 | 5.2% | 1,250 | 72.2 | 5.8% | 5.2 | 0.2% |
| 2008 | 3,151.2 | 177 | 5.6% | 1,889 | 102.5 | 5.4% | 1,262 | 74.5 | 5.9% | 2.6 | 0.1% |
| 2009 | 3,187.0 | 197.9 | 6.2% | 1,913 | 116.1 | 6.1% | 1,274 | 81.8 | 6.4% | 17.7 | 0.6% |
| 2010 | 3,225.3 | 195.2 | 6.1% | 1,938 | 112.3 | 5.8% | 1,287 | 82.9 | 6.4% | 19.9 | 0.6% |
| 2011 | 3,271.2 | 193.9 | 5.9% | 1,966 | 111.1 | 5.7% | 1,305 | 82.9 | 6.4% | 17.4 | 0.5% |
| 2012 | 3,316.9 | 196.9 | 5.9% | 1,994 | 113.2 | 5.7% | 1,323 | 83.7 | 6.3% | 17.3 | 0.5% |
| 2013 | 3,362.0 | 201.8 | 6.0% | 2,022 | 116.2 | 5.7% | 1,340 | 85.6 | 6.4% | 23 | 0.7% |
| Average annual growth | 1.5% | 1.1% | 1.5% | 1.1% | 1.5% | 1.2% | 19.5% | ||||
| ¹ ILO data for discouraged job-seekers is incomplete, covering a limited and varying number of countries. Real numbers are likely far greater. | |||||||||||
| ² Discouraged job-seekers as percent of total active population. | |||||||||||
Unemployment by gender | age |
Against the dark background of growing global unemployment, young people continue to be particularly affected by the lack of jobs. In total, 74.5 million young people were unemployed in 2013, an increase of almost 1 million over the previous year. There were 37.1 million fewer young people in employment in 2013 than in 2007, while the global youth population declined by only 8.1 million over the same period.
The global youth unemployment rate has reached close to 13% which is almost three times as high as the adult unemployment rate. Indeed, the youth-to-adult unemployment ratio has reached a historical peak. The global youth unemployment rate is expected to edge up to 13.2% in 2014.
In the countries for which information exists, the proportion of young people neither in employment, nor in education or training (NEET) has continued its upward trend. In certain countries, almost one-quarter of young people aged 15 to 29 are now NEET. In such crisis-stricken countries as Ireland and Spain, the NEET rate rose by more than 9.4 and 8.7 percentage points respectively since 2007. In both countries, the NEET rate is over 20%.
Youth unemployment is a major economic hazard because it may hugely impact the workforce replacement process on which economic progress rests. It is also a serious social threat, because it is unreasonable to expect from young people that they will keep their calm, levelheadedness and forbearance when faced to a foreseeable, clogged future.
Unemployment by age | |||||||||||
Year |
Unemployed |
Discouraged Job-seekers ¹ |
|||||||||
Total |
Youth |
Adults |
|||||||||
Active Population |
Unemployed |
Percent |
Active Population |
Unemployed |
Percent |
Active Population |
Unemployed |
Percent |
Total million |
Percent ² |
|
| 1998 | 2,682.9 | 170.3 | 6.3% | 567 | 70.6 | 12.4% | 2,116 | 99.7 | 4.7% | ||
| 1999 | 2,734.9 | 176.5 | 6.5% | 572 | 73.3 | 12.8% | 2,163 | 103.1 | 4.8% | ||
| 2000 | 2,778.1 | 176.7 | 6.4% | 572 | 74.2 | 13.0% | 2,206 | 102.5 | 4.6% | ||
| 2001 | 2,823.0 | 180.8 | 6.4% | 576 | 74 | 12.8% | 2,247 | 106.8 | 4.8% | ||
| 2002 | 2,871.3 | 186.4 | 6.5% | 583 | 76.6 | 13.1% | 2,288 | 109.8 | 4.8% | ||
| 2003 | 2,921.4 | 190.8 | 6.5% | 590 | 77.1 | 13.1% | 2,331 | 113.7 | 4.9% | ||
| 2004 | 2,976.3 | 192.5 | 6.5% | 600 | 79.2 | 13.2% | 2,376 | 113.3 | 4.8% | 4.6 | 0.2% |
| 2005 | 3,031.6 | 186 | 6.1% | 608 | 78 | 12.8% | 2,423 | 108 | 4.5% | 4.7 | 0.2% |
| 2006 | 3,072.5 | 179.8 | 5.9% | 608 | 75.2 | 12.4% | 2,464 | 104.6 | 4.2% | 4.9 | 0.2% |
| 2007 | 3,112.9 | 170 | 5.5% | 606 | 70.1 | 11.6% | 2,507 | 99.9 | 4.0% | 5.2 | 0.2% |
| 2008 | 3,151.2 | 177 | 5.6% | 602 | 71.8 | 11.9% | 2,549 | 105.2 | 4.1% | 2.6 | 0.1% |
| 2009 | 3,187.0 | 197.9 | 6.2% | 597 | 76 | 12.7% | 2,590 | 121.9 | 4.7% | 17.7 | 0.6% |
| 2010 | 3,225.3 | 195.2 | 6.1% | 591 | 74.9 | 12.7% | 2,634 | 120.3 | 4.6% | 19.9 | 0.6% |
| 2011 | 3,271.2 | 193.9 | 5.9% | 590 | 73.5 | 12.5% | 2,681 | 120.5 | 4.5% | 17.4 | 0.5% |
| 2012 | 3,316.9 | 196.9 | 5.9% | 588 | 73.8 | 12.6% | 2,729 | 123.2 | 4.5% | 17.3 | 0.5% |
| 2013 | 3,362.0 | 201.8 | 6.0% | 584 | 74.5 | 12.8% | 2,778 | 127.3 | 4.6% | 23 | 0.7% |
| Average annual growth | 1.5% | 1.1% | 0.2% | 0.4% | 1.8% | 1.6% | 19.5% | ||||
| ¹ ILO data for discouraged job-seekers is incomplete, covering a limited and varying number of countries. Real numbers are likely far greater. | |||||||||||
| ² Discouraged job-seekers as percent of total active population. | |||||||||||
Sources: ILO - International Labor Organization, ILOSTAT Database.
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