As economy fizzles, job prospects dim

A drop in both economic growth and the employment intensity of that growth has dimmed job prospects in Thailand, says a report by the United Nations Development Programme and the International Labour Organisation (ILO). Indonesia shares a similar plight, said the report which studied the situation in Cambodia, China, India, Malaysia, the Philippines and Sri Lanka.

Except for Malaysia, ''all the Asian countries studied experienced inadequate employment growth, and the problem has got worse in recent years'', said the ILO statement.

''This has been major factor in weakening the impact of economic growth on the earnings of the poor and in making growth less poverty-alleviating than it might have been.''

The causes of inadequate employment growth vary, the report says.

''In China and India, the two largest developing countries, the sharp fall in the employment intensity of growth has been the problem,'' said the ILO.

''In Indonesia and Thailand, the cause was both a reduction in employment intensity and a reduction in the rate of growth. In Cambodia, the Philippines and Sri Lanka the poor employment performance was, by and large, due to inadequate growth or growth bypassing the large sectors where poor workers are concentrated,'' the ILO said.

The study, titled ''Asian Experience on Growth, Employment and Poverty'', focuses on the employment intensity of economic growth as a means of poverty reduction and provides insights into why job growth is declining in some fast-growing Asian economies.