Employment growth in industrialized countries decreased between the years 2000 and 2002, with the exception of Italy and New Zealand, where employment growth continued in 2001 but at the cost of falling productivity. Overall, unemployment has been rising steadily in the industrialized countries, from 6.1 per cent in 2000 to 6.9 per cent in 2002. In the European Union, unemployment decreased between 2000 and 2001, from 7.8 per cent to 7.4 per cent, but began rising again in 2002 to 7.6 per cent. Meanwhile, in North America, unemployment increased rapidly in 2001 and 2002, from 4.8 per cent to 5.6 per cent in the United States and from 7.2 per cent to 7.6 per cent over the same period in Canada (2).
In Latin America and the Caribbean, the 2001 global economic slowdown sent the unemployment rate skyrocketing in many countries. Falling economic growth increased joblessness in almost all of Latin America and the Caribbean between 2001 and 2002, bringing the unemployment rate to nearly 10 per cent despite fewer people entering the work force. Youth unemployment in the region hit 16 per cent in 2001, up from 12 per cent in 1997, with nearly all new jobs for young people emerging in the informal economy.
In Latin America and the Caribbean, the 2001 global economic slowdown sent the unemployment rate skyrocketing in many countries. Falling economic growth increased joblessness in almost all of Latin America and the Caribbean between 2001 and 2002, bringing the unemployment rate to nearly 10 per cent despite fewer people entering the work force. Youth unemployment in the region hit 16 per cent in 2001, up from 12 per cent in 1997, with nearly all new jobs for young people emerging in the informal economy.