"World Bank President Robert Zoellick on Wednesday called on G20 leaders, meeting in Pittsburgh next week, not to leave the poorest countries behind as they focus on ways to keep the global recovery going. A new World Bank report [titled Protecting Progress: The Challenge Facing Low-Income Countries in the Global Recession] shows that more than 40 poor countries are still mired in an economic downturn and struggling to finance key needs such as health and education despite signs of recovery in some industrialized and emerging economies...." [Reuters/Factiva]

FT adds that "...poor countries are not able to follow the rich world's lead by using fiscal stimulus measures to kick-start their economies, the report said. 'While some are moving towards the exits, many are still being left behind in the burning house,' said Zoellick. 'We're entering a new danger zone, not of freefall but of complacency.'..." [Financial Times/Factiva]

The Washington Post writes that "...Zoellick said developing nations could play a vital role in helping the global economy achieve more balanced and sustainable growth by becoming another source of demand.... 'The April summit was for the financial sector,' he said referring to the last G20 gathering in London. 'This summit needs to be for responsible globalization.'... The Bank also called on the G20 to set up an emergency loan program to help poor countries so they 'won't be left defenseless in the face of shocks' not of their own making...." [The Washington Post/Factiva]

OECD Says Jobs Crisis Has Replaced Credit Crisis. "The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) warned that unemployment in its 30 member economies may reach 10 percent next year, despite an improved economic outlook. 'This financial and economic crisis has developed into a job crisis,' OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria said during a presentation of OECD's annual Employment Outlook report...." [Dow Jones/Factiva]

FT adds that "...the OECD said 15 million jobs were lost between the end of 2007 and July this year and 10 million more could go by the end of next year in the 30-nation area if the recovery failed to gain momentum. A total increase of that magnitude would be equivalent to the population of a country larger than Australia...." [Financial Times/Factiva]

However, Deutsche Welle reports that "... 'The labor market outlook would be even worse if governments had not pursued expansionary monetary and fiscal policy,' says the OECD. It estimates that government spending on anti-recession projects will raise total employment next year by about 0.8 percent. That is 1.4 percent more than would otherwise have been the case...." [Deutsche Welle/Factiva]