Publication: Employment-Related Mitigation Measures in ECA Countries
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Date
2010-02
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2010-02
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There are growing constraints on public finances in many countries due to the actual and projected build-up of public debt, which limits the scope of labor market interventions. Only a few Europe and Central Asia (ECA) countries (most notably Estonia, Kazakhstan and Russia) had set aside resources that can now be used to cushion an externally driven economic slowdown. Currently, the labor market situation in many ECA countries can be characterized as lack of demand for labor. Overall, in 27 ECA countries for which data are available for June 2008 to June 2009, registered unemployment increased from 8.460 million to 11.354 million, or around 34 percent. The number of registered unemployed increased the most in three Baltic States, Turkey and Moldova. Nevertheless, most governments in ECA have responded to the global economic crisis by making additional resources available for labor market and social policies, and with discretionary policy measures to cushion the negative effects of the crisis on workers and low-income households. Spending on unemployment benefits has increased automatically as job losses have mounted, and many governments have moved promptly to scale-up resources for active labor market programs.
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“Kuddo, Arvo. 2010. Employment-Related Mitigation Measures in ECA Countries. Europe and Central Asia Knowledge Brief; Volume No. 18. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/10209 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
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