Employment in developing countries continues to gradually recover

In a sample of middle-income countries, employment growth continued its steady recovery despite moderate output growth. Labor markets in Europe and Central Asia have continued their steady recovery from the 2009 financial crisis. In the Latin American countries in the sample, labor markets appear to be improving, despite a slowdown in economic growth. Four East Asian countries continued to experience improved employment and wage growth. In the only African country in the sample, South Africa, slower economic growth had mixed effects on labor markets. Declining commodity prices reduced gross domestic product (GDP) growth to a weak 2 percent, which led to a slight increase in the extraordinarily high unemployment rate and a slight decline in wage growth.