PERSPECTIVE Employment Policy in Times of Crisis From a Job-Rich Recovery to Sustainable Structural Change NICOLA LIEBERT JUNE 2010 n As a consequence of the crisis employment rates declined virtually all over the world, but in some countries the labour market withstood the downturn better than in others. It appears that the right policies – timely stimulus packages, measures that strengthen demand as well as social dialogue – do make a difference. n The experience of countries such as Korea, Poland, Brazil and Germany shows that crisis response measures have been particularly effective when they are aimed at sa­ving or creating jobs and at strengthening the social safety net. Untargeted tax cuts and wage deflation, by contrast, tend to be counterproductive. n The most immediate challenge at this point is finding a balance between the need to protect jobs through economic stimuli and the necessary fiscal consolidation. Long-term challenges to be addressed include getting more women and youth into employment, coping with the effects of an ageing society, building a basic floor of social protection, fighting informality and improving international policy coherence. n »Green« stimulus measures like investments in energy efficiency, renewable energy or water management have been used to counter the current crisis, but the long term employment potential of an environmentally sustainable structural change must not be underestimated, either. Dialogue on Globalization