FRESH eight million people are expected to join the current 200 million unemployed people by 2015, as the global unemployment figure is projected to hit a record 208 million by 2015, the latest report on global unemployment by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), has revealed.

The 2013 edition of the yearly World of Work report, tagged, “Repairing the economic and social fabric,” which was obtained by The Guardian in Geneva, Switzerland, came as deliberations as labour stakeholders converge for the 102th International Labour Conference (ILC).

The report shows encouraging, but still-fragile signs of improvement in emerging and developing economies, while many advanced economies continue to face high or even rising unemployment and increasing inequalities.

The report notes that the global economy is still recovering slowly from the financial crisis with most emerging and developing countries experiencing rising employment and narrowing income inequalities compared to their high-income counterparts.

However, the gap between rich and poor in most low and middle-income countries remains wide. Many families who have managed to rise above the poverty line are at risk of lapsing back.

The report maintains that by contrast, income inequalities have increased in advanced economies over the past two years, against the backdrop of increasing global unemployment – predicted to rise from the current 200 million to nearly 208 million by 2015.

There has been upward movement in the number of unemployed globally since 2007. The world has seen unemployment figure progressively rose from 169.7 million in 2007 to the current 201.5 million and to 207.8 million in 2015.

Out of the global 207.8, the sub-Saharan Africa is expected to have 28 million unemployed persons from the current 26.6 million unemployed persons.

According to the report: “Income inequalities rose between 2010 and 2011 in 14 of the 26 advanced economies surveyed, including France, Denmark, Spain and the United States. Inequality levels in seven of the remaining 12 countries were still higher than before the start of the crisis.

“Economic inequalities are also on the rise, as small firms lag behind their larger counterparts in terms of profits and productive investment. While most large enterprises have regained access to capital markets, start-ups and small enterprises are disproportionately affected by bank credit conditions. This is a problem for job recovery now and affects economic prospects over the longer term.”

Reacting to the findings of the report, the Director General of the ILO, Guy Ryder, opined that though there are positive developments in many parts of the world, the high and rising income disparities present a worrying trend.

His words: “These figures present a positive development in many parts of the developing world, but paint a disturbing picture in many high income countries, despite the economic recovery. The situation in some European countries in particular is beginning to strain their economic and social fabric.

We need a global recovery focused on jobs and productive investment, combined with better social protection for the poorest and most vulnerable groups. And we need to pay serious attention to closing the inequality gap that is widening in so many parts of the world.”

The report shows that middle-income groups in many advanced economies are shrinking, fuelled in part, by long-term unemployment, weakening job quality and workers dropping out of the labour market altogether.

“The shrinking size of middle-income groups in advanced economies is a matter of concern, not only for the inclusiveness of those societies but also for economic reasons. Long-term investment decisions by enterprises also depend on the proximity of large and stable middle-income groups which are in a position to consume,” the Director of the International Institute for Labour Studies, the research arm of the ILO, Mr. Raymond Torres added.

He stressed that more and better jobs are needed so there can be a more balanced distribution of income in both advanced and developing economies.

The report also emphasizes that the size of the middle-income group in developing and emerging economies has increased from 263 million in 1999 to 694 million in 2010. This is a major achievement of a growing number of Latin American and Asian countries, which spread more recently to some countries in Africa and the Arab region.

However, a vulnerable “floating group” – those just above the poverty level – increased from 1,117 million in 1999 to 1,925 million in 2010, mostly in low and low middle-income economies. This vulnerable group is close to three times the size of the middle-income group.

“In developing countries, the most important challenge is to consolidate recent progress in reducing poverty and inequality,” Torres said.

The report also shows how productive investment, minimum wages and social protection have contributed to this endeavour.