25m more jobless by 2010

THE number of people unemployed throughout the world could rise by up to 25 million by 2010 because of the global financial and economic crisis, secretary-general of the OECD Angel Gurria said yesterday.

“We’re heading for a loss of between eight and 10 million jobs in the OECD area... and 20 to 25 million in the world as a whole between now and 2010,” Gurria said.

The construction sector would be especially badly hit because its activities had “stopped in a brutal way,” affecting in particular countries such as Spain and Ireland, he said.