UNITED NATIONS, April 3 (UPI) -- U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro says job creation will be vital in efforts to reach the ambitious Millennium Development Goals by 2015.
The MDGs are a set of targets to slash a host of social ills, such as extreme poverty.
Increasing employment is the "critical link" between economic growth and poverty reduction, Migiro told a meeting of the Economic and Social Council at U.N. World Headquarters in New York on Monday.
"Higher economic growth, while important, must not be viewed as an end in itself," Migiro said. "For instance, last year's robust worldwide expansion did not lead to a corresponding reduction in unemployment or poverty. Instead, the number of people living on less than $2 a day actually grew last year to reach 1.37 billion."
She also said unemployment disproportionately affects youth representing a quarter of the global working population but nearly half of the unemployed.
"Globalization has lifted standards of living for some, but it has left many more on the margins, unable to enjoy its benefits," she said.
"Addressing these disparities is a central tenet of the MDGs," the deputy secretary-general added, pointing out that as the target date of 2015 approaches, "the world as a whole still lags in the race to achieve all of these goals."
