Unemployment Fears Rise Globally: BBC Survey

People across the globe are increasingly concerned about unemployment, according to a survey conducted by the BBC World Service.

The survey of more than 11,000 people in 23 countries shows that unemployment has joined corruption and poverty as one of the most debated issues. In fact, unemployment was discussed by six times as many people in 2011 as in 2009. It has risen as the top issue of concern for 3 percent of respondents in 2009 to 15 percent in 2010 and 18 percent this year. But corruption and poverty were still ranked higher.

The annual poll, called The World Speaks and carried out by Globescan, gave people a list of concerns and asked which they had discussed with friends or family in the past month. Corruption emerged as the most talked-about global issue.

Concern about joblessness seemed to vary by country. It was the leading issue in Spain, where the jobless rate is currently 22.6 percent. Unemployment was the most important issue in Egypt, Ghana and Nigeria as well. The results also revealed that the global economy is the most-discussed problem in the United States, Japan and France, while corruption tops the list in Turkey, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Nigeria and Peru.

With respect to climate change, Britain was the only two country along with Germany where it led the list. In China, Russia, Kenya and the Philippines, rising prices of food and energy were the main topics of discussion, while in Brazil, Ecuador and Mexico, crime and violence ranked first.

The overall top five most talked about problems in the world were corruption (24 percent), poverty (20 percent), unemployment (18 percent), the cost of food and fuel (17 percent) and crime, violence and security (16 percent).