In the cities, underemployment is creating a class of disaffected. Nearly all these economies are affected, in one way or another, by the growing numbers of contract labourers and unemployed youth. In Asia and the Pacific, workers under the age of 24 constitute the bulk of the unemployed in many countries and areas. The proportion of first-time job seekers in the total population of unemployed has increased over the past decade. The problems of migrant labour are also taking centre stage, since many workers remain unprotected from abusive conditions.
Child exploitation is another serious concern.
Sixty per cent of the 120 million children between five and 14 years old worldwide who are estimated to be employed as full-time workers are in Asia. Most of them are in South and South-East Asia, where poverty and educational inadequacies have left these children vulnerable to exploitation.