Global Joblessness Returns To Precrisis Levels In New IMF Employment Gauge

http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2015/01/14/global-joblessness-returns-to-precrisis-levels-in-new-imf-employment-gauge/


Global unemployment is finally back to levels seen before the global financial crisis. But the recession has left a sharp divergence between advanced and emerging economies, according to a new gauge unveiled by the International Monetary Fund.


The world’s jobless rate ended 2014 at 5.6%, where it stood in 2007. But global employment is growing at just 1.5% a year, far slower than the 2% to 2.5% growth rate seen before the crisis.


The figures are from a new Global Jobs Index by the IMF and the Economist Intelligence Unit.


The index, the first worldwide gauge of its kind, will offer quarterly estimates based on employment in 64 economies that represent about 95% of the world’s economic output and 80% of its labor force. (Some jobs numbers are drawn from historical relationships between jobs and economic growth.)


The world’s top policy makers, convening through the G-20 and the IMF, have long used overall economic growth measures to assess their progress. But they often note that jobs are the key measure of their success. The latest gauge shows one way they’re struggling. Top-line measures such as unemployment are returning to normal levels in many nations, including the U.S., but overall employment growth remains sluggish.