The UN Conference on Trade and Development has published its annual Least Developed Countries (LDCs) Report, which urges governments to focus on job creation by increasing investment in infrastructure, education and training to promote job growth and labor productivity.
20 November 2013: The UN Conference on Trade and Development has published its annual Least Developed Countries (LDCs) Report, which urges governments to focus on job creation by increasing investment in infrastructure, education and training to promote job growth and labor productivity.
The report, sub-titled ‘Growth with employment for inclusive and sustainable development,’ was launched by the UN Economic and Social Commission for the Asia and Pacific (ESCAP) on 20 November 2013, in Bangkok, Thailand.
The report warns that the numbers of youth surging into LDCs’ labor markets – from an estimated level of 168 million in 2010 to 300 million by 2050 – will cause social unrest and international tensions, unless governments are able to create sufficient jobs.
The authors argue that job creation measures should develop the productive capacities of the workforce, and that the primary employment challenge faced by LDCs is not unemployment, but the lack of inclusive growth and productive employment. This, they say, is a major impediment to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the sustainable development of LDCs.
They call for: inclusive, “job-rich growth” to be promoted through public investment in rural infrastructure, education and training; mobilizing and managing fiscal revenues; and steering LDC economies towards higher-productivity activities.
The authors recommend that LDC governments build on existing industries to create value-added products and services, and also invest in labor-intensive industries. They call for measures to improve and upgrade small and medium enterprises (SMEs) through access to credit and formalization of their status. They also call on international development partners to support youth in start-up businesses with technical and financial support.
The UN recognizes 49 countries as LDCs, including 34 in Africa, nine in Asia, and six that are small island developing states (SIDS). [Publication: The Least Developed Countries Report 2013: Growth with employment for inclusive and sustainable development] [ESCAP Press Release] [UNCTAD Press Release on Demographic Trends] [UNCTAD Press Release on Policy Recommendations] [UNRIC Press Release] [Press Conference Summary]