Seventeen mn people jobless for more than a year: OECD

The estimates are for a group of 33 nations, including the US and Spain; the number represents 1 in 3 of unemployed people

Reflecting the severity of economic turmoil, a whopping 17 million people are without a job for more than a year in the developed world, according to the latest data available with Paris-based think tank Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The estimates, based on numbers available till three months ended June this year, are for a grouping of 33 nations including the US and Spain. OECD is an umbrella entity of 34 countries. The latest estimates exclude Chile.     

 According to data compiled by OECD, one in three of the unemployed people in the member nations have been out of work for more than 12 months at the end of June quarter.

“At 35.3 per cent of total unemployed, this is the highest level since the crisis began (Q4 2007) when long-term unemployment stood at 27 per cent. That represents nearly 17 million people, nearly double the number of long-term unemployed in Q4 2007, then around 8.6 million,” the grouping has said.      

  Since the start of global financial crisis, which worsened in 2008, unemployment numbers have been on the rise as corporates trimmed workforce to save costs. Also, the pace of generation of new jobs have come down.

Among the member nations, Iceland and the US have seen the biggest rise in long-term unemployment. “Iceland has seen the biggest rise in long-term unemployment, up by 238 per cent to affect around one in five of the unemployed (18.2 per cent), and the US, up 167 per cent to one in four (26.5 per cent),” OECD said.      

Long term unemployment refers to being out of work for over 12 months.      

Other countries with high levels of long-term unemployment include and Slovak Republic (70.7 per cent), Greece (65.5 per cent), Ireland (59 per cent), Italy (56.4 per cent), Portugal (56.1 per cent), Slovenia (49.6 per cent), Spain (49.3 per cent) and Estonia (48.5 per cent).