International

13-May-2009

Europe
Eurozone unemployment increased by 419,000 in March, up from 395,000 in February, according to the IMF’s latest world economic outlook. The unemployment rate is now 8.9%, following a rate rise of 8.5% in February.

Australia
Australian recruiter Ambition Group says trading conditions will remain difficult until 2010 after a tough period in the white-collar recruitment
market.

Canada
The Monster Employment Index Canada fell by 19 points in the first quarter of 2009, dropping to 99 from 118 points overall, amid weaker online recruitment activity across every job sector and province in all but one of the 13 major Canadian cities monitored. The fall in Q1 was the third
consecutive quarterly decline. The Index was down by 37% year-on-year, compared to the Q1 period for 2008.

Ireland
Most Irish firms are twice as likely to give an Irish person an interview than a foreign national with precisely the same qualifications, according to
the report from the Equality Authority and the Economic and Social Research Institute.

China
China’s manufacturing sector grew for a second month in April, according to the Federation of Logistics and Purchasing. The Purchasing Manager’s Index increased to a seasonally adjusted 53.5 in April from 52.4 in March, with a reading above 50 indicating an expansion.