19 November 2009 – Nine million more people in Latin America will fall into poverty this year due to the global economic crisis, bringing the total number of poor in the region to 189 million, or 34 per cent of the population, according to a United Nations report released today.
The UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), which produced the report, stated that the new estimates depart from the trend towards poverty reduction that was prevalent in the region thanks to greater economic growth, the expansion of social spending and better income distribution.
“We can’t say that all that was attained between 2002 and 2008 has been lost,” said ECLAC Executive Secretary Alicia Bárcena, as she presented the report, Social Panorama of Latin America 2009.
“However, the rise in poverty calls us to action. We need to rethink social protection programmes with a long-term, strategic perspective and measures that make the most of human capital and protect the income of vulnerable families and groups,” she added.
ECLAC recommended, among other things, reforming social protection systems and adopting both urgent short-term measures as well as strategic long-term ones.
“In doing so, governments should avoid fiscal irresponsibility and rigid labour markets, increase taxes progressively, redistribute social spending and extend coverage of social services,” the Commission stated.
The Commission also noted that the projected increase in poverty for 2009 will impede efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the globally agreed targets to slash poverty, hunger and a host of other social ills, all by 2015.
At the same time, the impact of the current crisis on poverty in the region is not expected to be as great as with previous crises, such as the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s, it pointed out.
UN News
An International Caribbean Online Log about the news and opinions in the Americas and World. This Caribbean Blog of global reach and appeal is maintained by Bahamian Blogger - Dennis Dames with all readers and subscribers in mind.
Showing posts with label ECLAC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ECLAC. Show all posts
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Friday, October 2, 2009
Unemployment rate inches higher in Latin America and Caribbean, UN reports
2 October 2009 – The urban unemployment rate in Latin America and the Caribbean has climbed slightly to 8.5 per cent in the second quarter of 2009, with the United Nations forecasting that rate will stay constant through the end of the year.
This marks a 1 per cent rise in unemployment from last year, which means that 2.5 million more people have joined the 18.4 million people out of work in the region, according to a bulletin published by the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the International Labour Organization (ILO).
The second quarter saw exports contract in response to sluggish demand on global markets, while remittances and foreign direct investment also plummeted due to the global financial turmoil, it said yesterday.
“Since the end of 2008, the countries of the region had started to implement countercyclical policies – albeit with significant differences – in an effort to use public spending to counter flagging investment and consumer-spending levels and boost aggregate demand,” according to the bulletin, the second joint effort by the two UN agencies.
Gross domestic product (GDP) has contracted nearly 2 per cent in the region so far this year,
Labour-market trends observed in the first half-year, together with the forecast for a 1.9 per cent decline in regional GDP in 2009, suggest that the average annual rate of urban unemployment in the region will be close to 8.5 per cent.
“Youth have paid a high cost for the crisis or economic slowdown, given that unemployment among youths has increased significantly,” the bulletin said.
But it said that there are signs that the worst of the economic crisis has already been seen in mid-2009, with signs of recovery, including an end to production declines.
“Public investment can undoubtedly be a powerful tool for creating jobs and boosting the economy in times of crisis,” ECLAC and ILO said, also calling for emergency employment programmes.
Boosting public investment to spur job growth entails a lag, they said, underscoring the need for speeding up projects and execution of existing resources in the short term.
UN News
This marks a 1 per cent rise in unemployment from last year, which means that 2.5 million more people have joined the 18.4 million people out of work in the region, according to a bulletin published by the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the International Labour Organization (ILO).
The second quarter saw exports contract in response to sluggish demand on global markets, while remittances and foreign direct investment also plummeted due to the global financial turmoil, it said yesterday.
“Since the end of 2008, the countries of the region had started to implement countercyclical policies – albeit with significant differences – in an effort to use public spending to counter flagging investment and consumer-spending levels and boost aggregate demand,” according to the bulletin, the second joint effort by the two UN agencies.
Gross domestic product (GDP) has contracted nearly 2 per cent in the region so far this year,
Labour-market trends observed in the first half-year, together with the forecast for a 1.9 per cent decline in regional GDP in 2009, suggest that the average annual rate of urban unemployment in the region will be close to 8.5 per cent.
“Youth have paid a high cost for the crisis or economic slowdown, given that unemployment among youths has increased significantly,” the bulletin said.
But it said that there are signs that the worst of the economic crisis has already been seen in mid-2009, with signs of recovery, including an end to production declines.
“Public investment can undoubtedly be a powerful tool for creating jobs and boosting the economy in times of crisis,” ECLAC and ILO said, also calling for emergency employment programmes.
Boosting public investment to spur job growth entails a lag, they said, underscoring the need for speeding up projects and execution of existing resources in the short term.
UN News
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)