Migration could escalate as globalization fails to put jobs where needed, UN says

The number of people crossing borders in search of work and financial security will increase rapidly in the next decades as globalization fails to provide them with jobs and economic opportunities, the United Nations International Labour Organization (ILO) says in a new report.

"If you look at the global economy from the perspective of people, its biggest structural failure is the inability to create enough jobs where people live," said ILO Director-General Juan Somavia. "We should consider ways of providing decent work to this vast flow of migrants through multilateral actions and policies."

The number of migrants increased by about 6 million per year during the 1990s, according to the report titled "Towards a fair deal for migrant workers in the global economy." It was produced for a debate on managing migration at the annual Labour Conference scheduled to take place from 1 to 17 June.

If the 175 million international migrants estimated in 2000 were grouped into one country, it would be the fifth-most populous country in the world, it says.

Migrants have a mainly beneficial effect on recipient countries, but the countries of origin may suffer from a brain drain, the report says, noting that more locally trained doctors from Ghana and Jamaica are outside the two countries than inside.

According to the World Bank, remittances from migrants amounted to about $80 billion in 2002 and is the second largest source of external funding for many developing countries, the ILO report says.