Unemployment in some of the world’s biggest economies eased in July but remains higher than it was before the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
The unemployment rate in the group's 37 member countries fell from 8 per cent in June to 7.7 per cent in July, the organisation said in a report on Wednesday.
However, the two figures were higher by 2.5 percentage points than the rate in February.
Although the unemployment rate among youth aged 15 to 24 declined by 0.6 percentage points in July, it remained 4.9 percentage points higher than February.
The outbreak, which disrupted global trade and halted air travel, has dealt a huge blow to the labour market.
Earlier this year, the OECD said the impact of the pandemic on the workforce of its member countries was 10 times larger than during the first three months of the 2008 financial crisis.
The OECD includes some of the world’s biggest economies such as the US, euro-area countries, the UK and Canada.
The organisation expects the unemployment rate in member countries to hit 9.4 per cent this year, from 5.3 per cent last year, if the outbreak is kept under control.
However, it could reach 12.6 per cent if there is a second wave of infections.
The state of employment also differed widely across various regions, the OECD said.
The unemployment rate in the euro area rose for a fourth consecutive month to 7.9 per cent in July, up from 7.7 per cent a month earlier.
Meanwhile, unemployment in Japan rose marginally to 2.9 per cent from 2.8 per cent in June.
However, the unemployment rate in the US and Canada fell by 1.4 percentage points and 0.9 percentage points to 10.9 per cent and 10.2 per cent, respectively.
The OECD attributed this to a fall in temporary redundancies.
Furthermore, early data in the first 15 days of August also pointed to continued declines in temporary redundancies, pushing unemployment down to 10.2 per cent in Canada and 8.4 per cent in the US.
The group said in June that it expected the world economy to shrink by 6 per cent this year before growing by 5.2 per cent in 2021, if the virus is contained.
The World Bank forecast a 5.2 per cent contraction for this year while the International Monetary Fund projected that output would shrink by 4.9 per cent.
In the event of a second wave of infections, the OECD expects the world economy to contract by 7.6 per cent before growing by 2.8 per cent in 2021.
OECD economies suffered the worst contraction on record in the second quarter of this year as economic activity slowed due to the pandemic.
Real gross domestic product for the three months to the end of June fell by 9.8 per cent, compared to a contraction of 0.9 per cent in the first quarter, the group said last month.
Hunger and Fury: The Crisis of Democracy in the Balkans
Jasmin Mujanović, Hurst Publishers
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
Veere di Wedding
Dir: Shashanka Ghosh
Starring: Kareena Kapoo-Khan, Sonam Kapoor, Swara Bhaskar and Shikha Talsania
Verdict: 4 Stars
Eyasses squad
Charlie Preston (captain) – goal shooter/ goalkeeper (Dubai College)
Arushi Holt (vice-captain) – wing defence / centre (Jumeriah English Speaking School)
Olivia Petricola (vice-captain) – centre / wing attack (Dubai English Speaking College)
Isabel Affley – goalkeeper / goal defence (Dubai English Speaking College)
Jemma Eley – goal attack / wing attack (Dubai College)
Alana Farrell-Morton – centre / wing / defence / wing attack (Nord Anglia International School)
Molly Fuller – goal attack / wing attack (Dubai College)
Caitlin Gowdy – goal defence / wing defence (Dubai English Speaking College)
Noorulain Hussain – goal defence / wing defence (Dubai College)
Zahra Hussain-Gillani – goal defence / goalkeeper (British School Al Khubairat)
Claire Janssen – goal shooter / goal attack (Jumeriah English Speaking School)
Eliza Petricola – wing attack / centre (Dubai English Speaking College)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
