 Geneva: Globalisation has left employment by and large intact, despite the dismal economic forecasts of job losses, reveals a study by World Trade Organisation and the International Labour Office, challenging predictions of the negative consequences of growing world trade on wages and employment quality. The study notes that trade actually expanded by almost 6 per cent a year in the 10 years to 2005, driven by Moreover, global employment levels had shown few dramatic shifts in the past two decades with the world's workforce at 2.8 billion in 2005. The study notes: - Unemployment levels had improved in industrialised countries, since the sharp rise in the 1970s, while developing countries had seen a slight increase in unemployment.
- The fear of the emergence of China as a global factory, and India as the world's back office, leading to a shrinkage of jobs in other regions, had not come true.
- Despite the expansion in world trade, the bulk of jobs in industrialised and developing countries were still centred on non-tradeable services or activities.
The study also pointed out that although trade and FDI were playing an increasing role in the global economy, most jobs in the world have yet to be directly affected by these developments. However, the report cautions that, the demand-supply imbalance for skilled labour leading to premium wages, would lead to wage inequalities. Accordingly developing countries in particular needed to face the challenge of implementing appropriate economic and social policies to offset imbalances.
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