ADB hails RI employment

ADB hails RI employment

MANILA (AFP): The Asian Development Bank (ADB) yesterday praised Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia and Thailand for their success in generating employment compared to their South Asian counterparts.

The bank said the nations' success was a result of a balanced combination of liberal trade policies and less government intervention.

Unemployment rates in these countries stand at two or three percent, while the degree of unemployment and underemployment in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka remains high, ADB Vice- President Peter Sullivan said.

In his address at the opening of an ADB conference on employment creation, he said minimal state intervention in the labor market, concentration of job-enhancing activities and tax revenues to provide safety nets for the unemployed, were among the characteristics of the successful countries.

These states "aggressively" imported foreign capital and technology to boost demand for labor and have diversified their economies, he added.