Publication: Employment Recovery Stalls in Europe and Central Asia
Date
2013-04
ISSN
Published
2013-04
Author(s)
Abstract
Employment recovery stalls in Europe and
Central Asia (ECA) and Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
continues to recover in most ECA countries, but the recovery
remains fragile. Growth prospects remain poor in a number of
countries where GDP continues to decline. This slowdown in
the economic recovery is also evident at the sub-regional
level. Unemployment has stabilized, with an average
unemployment rate of 12 percent across the ECA region. Since
the start of the crisis, men have been disproportionally hit
by unemployment. The recent pace of job creation has not
been sufficient to absorb the large pool of unemployed,
resulting in growing long-term unemployment. Despite the
rise in long-term unemployment, activity rates have
increased or remained constant in most countries since 2008.
ECA labor markets adjusted to the crisis not only through
higher unemployment, but also through fewer work hours.
Given the already low levels of employment in the region and
a bleak demographic outlook, avoiding labor market
detachment among the long-term unemployed, the inactive, and
youth is the main challenge for policy makers in the near term.
Citation
“Koettl, Johannes; Mata, Elizabeth; Saiovici, Gady; Santos, Indhira. 2013. Employment Recovery Stalls in Europe and Central Asia. Europe and Central Asia knowledge brief;issue no. 65. © World Bank, Washington, DC. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/16956 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”