Warning austerity will lead to more job losses

The International Labour Organisation has predicted global unemployment will grow by 6m to 202m this year — and warned austerity measures being pursued by countries such as Ireland will lead to further job losses.

In its World of Work report for 2012, the ILO says it is unlikely the world economy will grow at a sufficient pace over the next two years to both close the existing jobs deficit and provide employment for the more than 80m people expected to enter the labour market during that period.

“The trends are especially worrying in Europe, where the unemployment rate has increased in nearly two-thirds of the countries since 2010,” it said, adding labour market recovery has also stalled in other advanced economies such as Japan and the US.