U.S. labor secretary sees long-term unemployment as G-20 focus

Long-term unemployment rates are a focus for the U.S. and other Group of 20 nations as they seek to move an estimated 100 million people into the global workforce, according to U.S. Labor Secretary Thomas Perez.

Nations are seeking to boost efforts to help young people and women find work and reduce the number of people left jobless for long periods, Perez said today in an interview with Bloomberg Television's "Countdown."

"There are too many people on the bench who want to get into the workforce, and who want to get back into the workforce," Perez said today from Melbourne, Australia. "America works best, and countries around the world work best, when we field a full team."

A weak global labor market risks slowing the pace of growth across G-20 economies, according to a report prepared for employment ministers by the World Bank Group, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and the International Labor Organization. About 100 million people are unemployed in G-20 countries and a further 447 million "working poor" live on less than $2 a day, the Sept. 9 report said.

Labor ministers from G-20 nations are holding talks Sept. 10-11 in Melbourne ahead of a leaders summit in Brisbane in November, which will consider measures to stimulate global growth.

The report sees a "substantial jobs gap" persisting until 2018 without improved economic expansion, and says that wage growth has "significantly lagged productivity." G-20 members account for about two-thirds of the world's population and 85 percent of its gross domestic product, according to the organization's website.

Long-term Jobless

In the U.S., the number of long-term unemployed, those out of work for 27 weeks or more, totaled 2.96 million in August, the fewest since 2.7 million in January 2009, according to the Labor Department. While the level is falling, it remains "alarmingly high," both in the U.S. and across the G-20, Perez said.

Though U.S. job openings in July held close to a more-than 13-year high, a weaker than estimated 142,000 advance in payrolls in August was the smallest employment gain this year.

Perez will meet German officials tomorrow to discuss efforts there to reduce long-term employment, particularly among young people. "We want to learn more about the apprenticeship system which has provided pathways to the middle class for young people," Perez said.

To contact the reporter on this story: David Stringer in Melbourne at dstringer3bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Brett Miller at bmiller30bloomberg.net James Mayger, Arran Scott