Economics Correspondent Ed Crooks: Outlook getting grimmer

A third of the world's labour force - about one billion workers - remains unemployed or underemployed, according to the report. (The term "underemployed" refers to people who are working substantially less than full-time despite being willing to work more.)

Of these, about 150 million are actually unemployed, according to the report, which was released on Thursday.

Economic recovery in Latin America has not reduced poverty

"The first half of 1998 has actually seen economic growth in many parts of the world," ILO Director Michel Hansenne commented.

"However, this revival, which we anticipated would spur higher jobs growth in all parts of the world, has only cut unemployment and underemployment in the United States, and to a lesser degree in the European Union.

"Stubbornly persisting high levels of unemployment and underemployment lead to social exclusion of the young and the old, the less skilled, the disabled and ethnic minority groups - with a strong bias against women in all categories," Mr Hansenne added.

The ILO advocates worker training as the single best solution to help vulnerable groups out of the trap of unemployment.

South Asia in danger

The report carries a particular warning for South Asia, which has so far remained relatively unaffected by the economic collapse which has blighted the rest of the continent over the past year.

It says India and Bangladesh have not reduced the high numbers of people earning less than a living wage, and criticises inadequate efforts to improve training and education, which it says was the basis for east Asia's economic surge in previous decades.

The report says India and Pakistan have made some progress, but the pace of change - especially in Pakistan - remains far too slow to make a substantive difference to economic growth.

Russia worse off

Unemployment has increased dramatically Russia

People in the former communist countries of eastern and central Europe continue to suffer a dramatic decline in living standards, accompanied by a rise in the unemployment rate to 9% from virtually zero.

In Russia, for example, wages are worth less than 60% of their real 1989 value, and the report predicts further rises in joblessness and poverty as a result of the recent economic collapse there.

In Latin America, unemployment has increased since 1991, and now stands at 7.4% - even though the economic growth rate which reached 5% in 1997, and the hyperinflation that bedevilled certain countries in previous years has been brought into check.

The report warns that more jobs in the region may be lost as investors lose confidence in emerging markets, in the wake of the Asian collapse.

Africa, after a long period of poor growth and deteriorating labour market conditions, seems to have experienced an improvement in the employment situation in many places.

The report warns, however, that these signs "should not be cause for undue optimism", with many of the new jobs in the subsistence and informal sectors, and the increase in the number of jobs not keeping pace with population growth.

The ILO describes the situation in developed countries as "encouraging but uneven", noting a recent upturn in prospects in Europe.