国际英语新闻：L. America, Caribbean enjoy lower unemployment despite economic crisis

LIMA, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- The Labor Overview of Latin America and the Caribbean report, presented here Wednesday by the International Labor Organization (ILO), showed that the region had created millions of jobs despite the economic crisis and that this trend will continue in 2011.

Regional urban unemployment stood at 8.1 percent in 2009, and by 2010 it was down to 7.4 percent due to the generation of 1.2 million jobs. It is estimated that in 2011 the unemployment rate will be 7.2 percent.

However, it is also estimated that 16.9 million people of the economically active population (EAP) are unemployed, 45 percent of whom are young people.

"The regions resisted the effect of the financial crisis on the employment rate," ILO Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean Jean Maninat said, adding that the region's economic recovery and adequately enforced policies contributed to employment growth.

"It is an encouraging result, now it will be necessary to approach the challenges related to the work quality and promote the social cohesion to consolidate the achievements regarding growth," he said, adding that one must ensure that the recovery of the regional economies is real and sustainable.

Statistics show that there are 104 million young people in this region facing an unequal situation: only 34 percent study, 33 percent work, 13 percent study and work, and 20 percent neither study nor work.

The high unemployment rate of the young people duplicated the general average. Maninat said that the countries should take specific measures to generate more and better jobs for young people and invest more in professional training.