Geneva, Jan 21 (IANS): Unemployment is projected to increase by around 2.5 million this year, said a new International Labour Organisation (ILO) report.

Nearly half a billion people worldwide are working fewer paid hours than they would like or lack adequate access to paid work, according to the report titled "World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2020" (WESO), released on Monday.

The ILO global report on employment and social trends shows that a lack of decent work, combined with rising unemployment and persisting inequality, makes it increasingly difficult for people to build better lives through their work, Xinhua reported.

According to the WESO, in addition to the global number of unemployed that stands at 188 million, 165 million people do not have enough paid work, and 120 million have either given up actively searching for work or otherwise lack access to the labour market.

ILO Director-General Guy Ryder said at a UN news conference here that labour markets and labour activity remain the principal sources of livelihood for most people in the world, but labour market outcomes are very unequal in the world in terms of how easy it is to find paid work, the type, and quality of that work and their remuneration.

"Persisting and substantial work-related inequalities and exclusion are preventing people from finding decent work and better futures. That's an extremely serious finding that has profound and worrying implications for social cohesion," he said.