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Job Market Giving You a Hard Time? Keep Your Pants On

BY Ben PaynterThu Nov 12, 2009

The next time you're feeling frisky, consider the global job market.

The World Watch Institute gave FastCompany.com a peek at the statistics from its new pay-per-view database, which stands to become a catchall for anyone interested in parsing destructive global trends. Its findings on global workforce rates, for example, show a drastic shift in who's earning what and where.

The global workforce has skyrocketed over the past decade with 65% of the world population--a whopping 4.46 billion people--ready to collect a paycheck. That's up about 20% from a decade ago and nearly triple the rate of the 1950s. Overall, the workers able to bring in paychecks in the global economy has stayed fairly consistent, hovering around 69%. But the countries that have less competition for their best jobs--meaning overall higher employment rates and better quality of life--are those where less children are born.

A graph of the breadwinner's boom proves the obvious: That we all basically bred our way into this mess in the first place.

workforce

To take it a step further, another graph from World Watch Institute shows that its these high-income countries that control most of the world GDP.

workforce

Look closer at the minutia of the report and there is at least one example for how countries can get back ahead. Since 1965 a handful of East Asian countries have essentially banked because of policies and cultural stigmas against over-breeding. As a whole, societal pressure for prudishness meant that not only was there a bit more disposable income lying around, but that there were fewer kiddos vying for well paying gigs in the local marketplace; more people could get employed and their overall wealth has quietly risen. (See Figure 2).

The good news: Labor growth in most other industrialized countries appears to have finally peaked.

workforce

So the next time the ailing economy (or your own unemployment) takes its toll on your libido, remember, that might be the best thing for you and the standard of living in your country.

Topics:

Technology, Work/Life, labor force, unemployment, recession, job growth, World Watch Institute, FastCompany.com


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Recent Comments | 6 Total

November 12, 2009 at 6:50pm by Max Miller

This is really true, the world would be better off if people would stop having so many kids. Who would have thought that birth control could be a key to the economy?

November 12, 2009 at 8:59pm by David Osedach

It will be interesting to see how soon China takes over as the world's largest economy. Then we can sit back and say "I told you so!"

November 13, 2009 at 2:04am by

Sometimes it's hard to find good business project for future

Computer Trick

November 13, 2009 at 9:55am by Chris Johnston

Yeah that sounds great but no income has a direct impact on your personal standard of living.

November 13, 2009 at 12:32pm by Chris Reich

Smart companies are building relationships today with tomorrow's economic winners. As long as the U.S. remains self-absorbed, our economy in terms of real income for the population, aka Standard of Living, will continue to shrink.

Make a guess at where the the US is now with GDP per capita. Then look it up. Look at who is ahead of us and shudder.

Doesn't have to be, but, if we continue the lazy route of a service economy, the fall is going to accelerate.

Chris Reich
www.BizPhyZ.com & www.TeachU.com

November 15, 2009 at 11:30pm by Chandan Dutta

Exactly! We should avoid extra expenses. Its a great news that Labor growth is increasing.
http://earnmoneyonlinehub.com