Labour ministers from the world's 20 leading economies pledged to avoid the prospect of a jobless recovery in the coming years after their first-ever summit meeting ended Wednesday.
In a joint statement, the Group of 20 (G20) bloc promised measures to "accelerate job creation" in their own countries, boost job training and education programmes, dpa reported.
The G20 labour ministers held a two-day gathering in Washington as most industrial nations are grappling with high unemployment rates, even as their economies emerge from a two-year recession.
Many G20 members have been under intense domestic pressure to take more action on the labour front. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday predicted the jobless rate in advanced economies would be on average 8.4 per cent this year and 8 per cent in 2011.
"We know that we have much more to do," US Labour Secretary Hilda Solis told reporters, noting that the US unemployment rate of 9.7 per cent remained "unacceptably high."
The labour ministers met for the first time since world leaders declared at an autumn summit that the G20 would become the premier forum for discussing economic issues. The ministers exchanged notes on innovative job programmes and pledged to work more closely.
"G20 leaders should prioritize employment and poverty alleviation as they lay the foundation for strong, sustained and balanced growth that is beneficial to all," the joint statement said.
But the summit went ahead without key ministers from Germany, France and Britain, where air travel has been brought to a near standstill by volcanic ash moving across Europe from Iceland.
Finance ministers of the G20 will also meet later this week in Washington ahead of the IMF and World Bank's spring meetings.
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