SOUTH Asia led the world's regions in job creation last year, according to a new International Labour Organisation (ILO) report.

Following is a region-by-region employment snapshot compiled by the United Nations agency:

Developed economies and EU

Employment growth in the region rose 2.5 per cent in 2007, less than the year before, partly as a result of turbulence stemming from a US housing market crisis, the ILO said. Its unemployment rate was nearly unchanged at 6.4 per cent.

'The outlook for the coming years is not as positive,' the report concluded.

South Asia

The region dominated by India was the world leader in employment growth last year, contributing 28 per cent of the jobs created worldwide, the ILO said. But it also had the highest share of 'vulnerable employment' as a result of poor-quality jobs created, and few women in the region are employed.

The report said it was 'important for the region that it prepares itself for an economic situation less favourable than today's by putting social protection mechanisms in place to make sure that people do not fall back into poverty.'

Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia, a region including the Pacific, logged its fourth consecutive year with economic output of 6 per cent or more in 2007. Unemployment rates in the region are relatively low and have stabilised in recent years, the report concluded.

Countries such as Cambodia, Vietnam and the Philippines have shown promising developments but 'the region still needs decent jobs,' the ILO said. 'How to find sectors where such jobs can be created is the challenge for the future, especially given the region overall does not have an advantage in either cheap labour or productivity levels.'

East Asia

China helped drive East Asia's economic expansion of 10.4 per cent in 2007, in the region's sixth straight year above 8 per cent growth. This pushed up total employment by 0.9 per cent, and meant the region accounted for 16 per cent of the jobs created worldwide in 2007.

'More and more countries in East Asia are on their way to becoming middle-income economies,' the ILO said, raising concerns about working hours, health and safety at work, and environmental problems associated with fast economic expansion.

Middle East

High oil prices led to big economic disparities between the oil producing Gulf states and other Middle Eastern countries such as Lebanon in 2007. Many jobs created through the oil boom have gone to migrant workers, especially in construction, while there has been high sustained unemployment among nationals.

'The region's unemployment trend gives cause for concern,' the ILO said, saying it was unchanged at 11.8 per cent.

North Africa

Labour market indicators show 'a disturbing picture' in North Africa, despite strong recent economic growth that is expected to continue, the report said, noting the region has the lowest employment-to-population ratio in the world, with less than 1 out of every 5 people of working age employed.

Total unemployment was also described as a challenge, having increased by nearly 25 percent from 1997 to 2007. The ILO said the region needed to keep diversifying away from agriculture, construction and public works and into more export-oriented, knowledge-driven sectors to generate more and better jobs.

Latin America

Vulnerable employment remains an issue in Latin America and the Caribbean, where the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 8.5 per cent last year. Wage and salary work now accounts for a smaller share of total employment than a decade ago.

The ILO said labour market pressures were likely to exacerbate the widespread inequalities across the region. 'High unemployment and increasing vulnerable employment are bound to have a negative impact on equality,' it said.

Sub-Saharan Africa

More than 70 per cent of workers in sub-Saharan Africa, the world's poorest region, are in vulnerable employment situations and only one fourth of those employed have salaried work. The region's extensive poverty 'often forces poor people to work regardless of the quality of work,' the ILO said.

'In the years to come, the region faces the enormous double challenge of creating more and decent jobs. The good news is that more and more countries do seem to have reached a starting point,' it said.