The economic downturn will hit the Internet economy hard in 2009, according to the latest available OECD estimates. The IT Outlook 2008 says that the IT industry is likely to have grown by 4% at most in 2008 compared to the previous year. But with the outlook for the global economy worsening and business and consumer confidence plumetting, growth will remain flat or decline in 2009.

The OECD is closed from 25 December 2008 to 4 January 2009 inclusive. Our offices reopen on 5 January 2009. We wish you every happiness for the Festive Season and for 2009.

OECD’s 30 member countries will hold their annual Ministerial Council Meeting in Paris on 24-25 June 2009 under the chairmanship of Korean Prime Minister Seung Soo Han. This is the first time that Korea, which joined OECD in 1996, will chair an OECD Ministerial Council Meeting.

Young people in Japan are finding it increasingly hard to get permanent jobs and the Japanese authorities should expand vocational training schemes and increase social security coverage for young non-regular workers in order to help them.

Korea has been hard-hit by the global financial crisis. In addition, it faces a number of medium-term challenges to sustaining growth, notably tax reform, enhancing service sector productivity and reforming the labour market and education system.

Turkey compares well with other OECD countries in terms of biodiversity and its relatively low level of greenhouse gas emissions per head of population, but it faces significant future environmental challenges due to unsustainable patterns of production and consumption.

Israel has officially joined the OECD Working Group on Bribery, an important step in its accession to OECD membership. OECD has also launched a partnership with the African Development Bank (AFDB) to support the efforts of African governments and business to fight bribery and corruption and boost corporate integrity.

The US economy is facing a serious financial crisis and is in recession. Measures are being taken to combat the financial crisis and support the economy. Reforms are needed to strengthen financial market regulation and extend health insurance coverage.

Governments should crack down on tax evasion to raise tax revenues as part of broader efforts to help maintain the flow of aid to developing countries during the global economic downturn, said OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría in a speech at the UN International Conference on Financing for Development.

A new OECD book on sustainable development will practice what it preaches by using innovative low-carbon publishing technology for sales in far-flung global markets.

OECD countries have reaffirmed their commitments on aid to developing countries and undertaken to abstain from trade protectionism, as part of a concerted drive to shore up the world economy and combat recession.

To help ensure that the financial crisis does not create a development crisis, DAC donors have joined in an Aid Pledge – initiated by OECD - reaffirming the aid commitments they made at Gleneagles and elsewhere and agreeing to maintain aid flows consistent with them.

The number of unemployed in OECD countries is expected to rise by about 8 million people over the next two years as the most serious recession since the early 1980s takes it toll on economic activity, according to the latest OECD Economic Outlook. Watch the press conference via the link above.

India has joined the thirty-five exporting countries, including 29 OECD countries plus Brazil, Estonia, Israel, Romania, Russia and Slovenia, that pledged continued export-credit support for international trade deals in line with a call by G20 leaders for emerging and developing economies to retain access to financing for imports in the present financial crisis.

OECD’s Economic Outlook containing analysis and projections for all OECD countries and other major world economies will be published on Tuesday 25 November 2008. Klaus Schmidt-Hebbel, OECD’s Chief Economist, will present the Economic Outlook at a news conference at 11.00 a.m. at OECD headquarters. The news conference will also be broadcast live on OECD's website.

The main challenges facing the Spanish economy are to minimise the economic costs of the current downturn, move workers shed to new jobs, and to raise sustainable productivity growth including by improving human capital formation and competition in product markets.

On 21 November 2008, the European Parliament will discuss the budgetary aspects of a European Commission proposal to fund a €1 billion Food Facility to assist farmers in developing countries. In a statement, OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría affirmed OECD’s support for the Commission proposal.

OECD will support the global concerted effort to re-launch the world economy with analysis and recommendations for more effective regulation and policies for a return to sustainable growth. In a speech at the International Labour Organization in Geneva, Secretary-General Angel Gurría welcomed the outcome of the G-20 meeting and outlined OECD’s planned contribution to international cooperation on the economy.

Economic activity is expected to fall by 0.9 percent in the US next year, by 0.5 percent in the Euro area and by 0.1 percent in Japan as OECD countries enter a protracted slowdown, according to latest projections. Watch the news conference to present GDP, inflation and unemployment forecasts for the three economies ahead of the G20 summit on the financial crisis on 15 November 2008.

OECD is preparing a two-pillar action plan for governments, as part of a global response to the world financial crisis, calling for tighter regulation and oversight of financial markets and improved national policies to promote economic growth.