IMF calls for labour market reform to boost jobs

Reforms include higher public spending to help the jobless find work, cutting benefits to encourage the jobless to take low-paid work and cutting taxes

The protracted weakness of the global economy has highlighted the need for lower taxes on employment and higher public spending to get the unemployed back into work, the International Monetary Fund has said.

Expressing concern about sluggish growth in the west since the 2008-09 downturn, the Washington-based IMF said it was time for ultra-low interest rates and quantitative easing to be accompanied by a range of structural reforms.