In 1993, the unemployment rate for the 30 member nations of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development was 7.5%.  And as Matthew Saltmarsh points out in the New York Times, that was the highest rate for the OECD nations since 1970.  But now, unemployment continues to climb, and in a report released earlier today, the OECD is projecting it will approach a new post-World War II high of 10% (the current 8.5% rate is already a post-war high).  And while the report says that most nations have taken strong measures to offset the dangers of high unemployment, those measures should not be seen as long term.  Instead, the report recommends that nations:

--Help young people who have been hardest hit by the crisis, especially those with few or no qualifications. Targeting this group will reduce the risk of a “lost generation” of young people falling into long-term unemployment and losing touch with the job market.

--Reinforce social safety nets to avoid jobless people falling into poverty: on average in the OECD area, 37% of individuals living in jobless households are poor - five times higher than for individuals living in a household where at least one person has a job.

--Increase spending on active labour market policies, such as job search assistance, and training, to help the unemployed back to work. Spending on these policies has risen in many countries over the past year, but only modestly compared with the magnitude and pace of job losses. In Ireland, Spain and the United States, which have seen the fastest rise in unemployment in OECD countries, spending per unemployed person on active labour market policies has fallen by 40% or more over the past year.

--Foster skill formation to ensure that workers are well-equipped with the appropriate skills for emerging jobs, including green jobs.

You can read more on the report here.  And watch the OECD's video release below.