Globalisation and Employment

The relationship between globalisation and employment is complex and uneven. While globalisation has created new opportunities for some sections of society, the broader picture of employment growth remains disappointing, especially for the poor.

The Employment Gap

A key finding from an International Labour Organisation (ILO) report titled Labour and Social Trends in Asia and the Pacific 2005 is the existence of a growing 'employment gap' in the Asia region. The core problem is that the creation of new jobs has failed to keep pace with the region's impressive economic growth.

Between 2003 and 2004, employment in Asia and the Pacific increased by only 1.6 per cent, or by 25 million jobs, bringing the total to 1.588 billion jobs. This was considered disappointing because it occurred alongside a strong economic growth rate of over 7 per cent. The ILO report described this job growth as "disappointing".

Uneven Impact on Different Social Groups

The impact of globalisation on employment is not uniform. It affects different social groups in opposite ways.

For the middle class youth in urban centres, globalisation and the Information Technology (IT) revolution have opened up new career opportunities. Instead of routinely pursuing traditional degrees like B.Sc., B.A., or B.Com. from colleges, many young people are now:

• Learning computer languages at computer institutes.
• Taking up jobs at call centres or Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) companies.
• Working as sales persons in shopping malls.
• Picking up jobs at the various new restaurants that have opened up. …