Speaking at the Brookings Institution in Washington DC in the week of the IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said that the recovery from the global economic crisis was failing to create jobs and that economic inequality threatened to bring future instability.

"For the recovery is here, but growth, at least in advanced economies, is not creating enough jobs and clearly it’s not the recovery we want. Many people in many countries are facing a social crisis that is every bit as serious as the financial crisis."

 - Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund

Strauss-Kahn emphasized the importance of collective bargaining, a point reinforced by Sharan Burrow, general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation, who also took part in a panel discussion at the event.

"We have learned that unemployment and inequalities can undermine the achievements of the market economy and, therefore, sowing the seeds for instability and crisis. And when we look how dangerous this cocktail of unemployment and inequality can be, while also associated with sometimes, often, some political tension, we can see how it’s playing out in Middle East and North Africa."

 - Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund

"The job crisis is hitting the young especially hard. What should have been a brief spell in unemployment is turning into a life sentence. And we are facing, really, the risk of a lost generation."

 - Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund

The IMF’s World Economic Outlook, released this week, said unemployment remained a major problem while rising food and commodity prices posed a threat to poor households, adding to social and economic tensions notably in the Middle East and North Africa.
 
Director Strauss-Kahn said that even after tackling the financial crisis, further global cooperation will be needed to ensure a sustainable and balanced recovery with job creation and fair distribution.

"Stability depends a lot on a strong middle class that can propel demand. And, we will not see this if growth does not led to decent jobs. So, we will not see this if growth rewards the favored few over the marginalized many."

 - Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund

Courtesy: United Nations & International Monetary Fund (IMF)