5. Montenegro
> Unemployment: <5%
> GDP: $7.0 billion (152nd highest, out of 225)
> GDP per capita (PPP): $11,200 (104th highest, out of 226)
> Pct. working full-time for an employer: 50%+
The largest sector in Montenegro’s economy is aluminum, which accounts for 40% of its GDP and 80% of the country’s total exports, according to international trade service GlobalTrade.net. Agriculture and food-processing represent 15% of the economy, as does the expanding tourism industry. Already, more than 50% of the labor force work full-time for an employer. This share will increase as the country further privatizes its industries — a transition that already has begun.
6. Taiwan
> Unemployment: <5%
> GDP: $885.3 billion (19th highest, out of 225)
> GDP per capita (PPP): $37,900 (28th highest, out of 226)
> Pct. working full-time for an employer: 50%+
According to Taiwan’s Government Information Office, the country has not had a serious unemployment problem since 1950. This is largely due to exports. During the 1980s, the unemployment rate in the country actually fell below 2%, creating a labor shortage. Today, most of the major industries in the country are either export oriented or they are suppliers to export industries. Taiwan’s economy continues to grow quickly, especially with regards to general industry. According to the World Factbook, Taiwan’s annual industrial growth rate of 5.2% is the 18th highest out of 166 countries.
7. Thailand
> Unemployment: <5%
> GDP: $601.4 billion (24th highest, out of 225)
> GDP per capita (PPP): $9,700 (112th highest, out of 226)
> Pct. working full-time for an employer: 20% – 29%
Thailand has a highly-developed, market-oriented economy. Its driving force is exports, which account for more than half its GDP. According to the World Bank, Thailand has had an unemployment rate below 2% for the majority of the past decade. According to George T. Haley, professor of marketing and international business at the University of New Haven, in a CNN article, Thailand is doing so well partly because of investments redirected from China to nearby countries due to high wage inflation in China.
8. Ukraine
> Unemployment: <5%
> GDP: $329.0 billion (38th highest, out of 225)
> GDP per capita (PPP): $7,200 (132nd highest, out of 226)
> Pct. working full-time for an employer: 50%+
Like its neighbor, Belarus, the former Soviet Socialist Republic of Ukraine has among the lowest reported unemployment rates in the world. However, unlike Belarus, it has not been a model of consistent growth. According to the World Bank, GDP contracted 14.8% in 2009 and has grown only moderately the last couple of years. The CIA reports that the country has a large number of underemployed or unregistered workers. Nevertheless, according to Gallup, at least 50% of the population is working full-time for an employer.
9. Vietnam
> Unemployment: <5%
> GDP: $299.2 (42nd highest, out of 225)
> GDP per capita (PPP): $3,300 (167th highest, out of 226)
> Pct. working full-time for an employer: 20% – 29%
Although Vietnam has moved further from its strict, centrally planned economy, it is still dominated by state-owned enterprises, which account for 40% of GDP. Vietnam, as is the case with many Asian countries that have low unemployment rates, has a high rate of subsistence agriculture jobs. The rate of agriculture jobs has decreased from approximately 25% in 2000 to about 22% in 2011, according to the World Factbook, while the share of jobs in industry increased from 36% to 40% over that same period. This illustrates the modernization shift of the country’s economy.
Michael B. Sauter and Charles B. Stockdale
