Jobless rate to climb in richest nations

The jobless rate in the world’s richest nations is expected to climb to 6.9% of the active population next year before declining slightly in 2004, the OECD said today.

The Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said unemployment was expected to reach 6.4% this year, then climb to 6.9% in 2003 - the equivalent of 35.6 million people out of work.

The jobless rate should ease slightly in 2004, to 6.7%, as economic expansion picks up.

The OECD also predicted Japan’s unemployment rate would reach 6% next year, the ‘‘highest level of the last 50 years.’’

Despite the rise, the jobless rate in the 30 OECD member countries represented an improvement after peaking in 1993 at about 8%.

However, the OECD noted that among its members, Greece, the Slovak Republic, Poland, and Spain will continue to have double-digit rates of unemployment in 2002 and 2003.

The OECD said countries where the jobless rate has fallen fastest or stayed at low levels - such as Australia, Canada, the US and some EU countries - have ‘‘implemented policy reforms along the lines of the OECD jobs strategy.’’

The organisation said that in many countries unemployment and long-term joblessness remain unacceptably high, while others suffer from ‘‘large pockets of inactivity,’’ defined as particular age groups that can’t find work.

For example, more than 20% of young male adults in Italy, Poland, the Slovak Republic and Turkey are out of work, compared with only 5% in Denmark and the Netherlands, the OECD said.

In addition, some OECD members worry about the ‘‘quality’’ of work available and rising levels of short-term contracts and temporary jobs.

‘‘Although some commonly expressed fears are myths, a substantial number of workers may have difficulty obtaining stable jobs,’’ the OECD said.

The OECD also said the labour force in its member countries is expected to shrink as their populations age. It recommended mobilising ‘‘additional labour supply’’ as conditions improve and demands for skilled labour increase.