Conference on Employment in the Postcrisis Context

Background

Many Asian economies have achieved substantial reductions in poverty and creation of employment by export-oriented development strategies, focused on the US and European markets in recent decades.

But the global financial crisis, which originated in the US, has now become a full-blown global jobs crisis. Already disadvantaged groups in the labour market—youth, immigrants, the low-skilled and workers in temporary or part-time jobs—are bearing most of the brunt of the job losses. While global economic growth has turned positive again, the recovery is expected to be slow, with unemployment continuing to rise over the next year or more.

Looking ahead beyond the crisis, this export-oriented growth model can no longer be relied upon to sustain the region's economic and employment growth as US consumer spending will remain sluggish over many years to come. Developing Asian economies now need to adapt their development strategies to this more difficult environment and to take up the challenge of “rebalancing growth” towards greater reliance on domestic and regional demand.

Employment is a key aspect of inclusive and sustainable development and this conference will deal with the following key labor market issues: (i) short and medium term outlook for jobs; (ii) informal and non-regular employment; (iii) unemployment insurance and social policy in developing Asia; (iv) implications for enterprise financing for employment; (v) green growth and green jobs; and (vi) migration.

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Outputs

1. Better understanding of the development policy challenges in the post-crisis world.
2. Policy recommendations concerning labor market policies in post-crisis development.
3. Closer cooperation among key stakeholders handling this issue.

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Participants

The target audience for this conference is mid to senior level officials from labor and employment ministries, economic planning ministries, as well as other organizations and institutions actively involved in labor and employment issues across Asia and the Pacific.

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How to Apply

By invitation only.

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Language

The conference will be delivered entirely in English.

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Partners

The Asian Development Bank Institute is organizing this conference with the International Institute for Labour Studies of the International Labour Organization, whose forthcoming publication The World of Work will be released just prior to the event.