Emerging Markets Resist Unemployment Increases Better Than Developed Economies

Unemployment is a ‘lagging indicator’ meaning that it can take some time for the impact of an economic downturn to trigger a rise in unemployment rates. Long term unemployment can dent consumer confidence and consumer spending. Spain and Greece had the world’s biggest percentage point increase in unemployment rates from 2007-2012, rising by 16.8 and 16.1 percentage points respectively. Many emerging markets in Asia and Latin America were more resilient and saw little to no increase.