UN: 27 million people became unemployed in 2009

The U.N. labor agency, the International Labor Organization (ILO), said in an 82-page report that 27 million people lost their jobs worldwide in 2009 and also warned of jobless recovery. They issued this report on the first day of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland where 2,500 business and political leaders will spend five days debating financial reforms, job creation strategies and other key elements of economic recovery.

Of the 27 million, nearly 12 million of the newly unemployed people were in North America, Japan and Western Europe, while the jobless number jumped by nearly four million in both Eastern Europe and Latin America. However, the unemployment rates in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East remained more stable during 2009.

The ILO said it expected unemployment to remain high through 2010, with perhaps an additional 3 million people in the rich world losing their jobs or unable to find employment as they enter the job market.

To address the high unemployment, the ILO wants governments to adopt a two-pronged approach of employment creation and better unemployment benefits, even if the latter may prove a disincentive for some people looking for jobs.

While the global unemploymnet rate was 6.6% last year, the figures that are even more alarming are over 600 million workers and their families were surviving on less than $1.25 a day and another 200 million were hovering just above the international poverty line.

So even though many Americans are worrying about their financial problems, many have it way better off than those in third world countries and should be glad that they live in the U.S. Hopefully the World Economic Forum brings many new ideas and reforms to the table to help out with unemployment.