This is according to a World Bank report.
The private sector will be the engine for job creation, accounting for 90% of jobs in the developing world, but governments have a vital role to play by ensuring the right conditions are in place.
The 2013 World Development Report recommends a three-stage approach by governments, urging them to put in place policy fundamentals that include macroeconomic stability, a business-friendly environment, investments in human capital and the rule of law; designing labour policies to ensure that growth translates into employment opportunities; and identifying the jobs that do most for development and removing the obstacles that prevent the private sector from creating these.
"The jobs with the greatest development payoffs are those that make cities function better, connect the economy to global markets, protect the environment, foster trust and civic engagement, or reduce poverty," said Jim Yong Kim, president of the World Bank. "Critically, these jobs are not only found in the formal sector – depending on the country context, informal jobs can also be transformational."
The report comes against a grim backdrop. The world economy is still stuttering from the 2008 financial shock that triggered the biggest global economic downturn since the Great Depression. About 200-million people – including 75-million under the age of 25 – are unemployed.
Meanwhile, almost half of all workers in developing countries are in small-scale farming or self-employed jobs that typically do not provide a steady income and benefits.
The problem for these workers is not the lack of a job – many hold more than one – but that they do not earn enough. – © Guardian News & Media 2012