SANTIAGO, June 11 (Reuters) - Joblessness in Latin America and the Caribbean rose by more than 1 million people in the first quarter amid a global crisis and will likely rise sharply for the whole year, United Nations bodies said on Thursday.
The U.N. Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean and the International Labor Organization said the regional unemployment rate rose to 8.5 percent in the first quarter of 2009 from 7.9 percent in the first quarter of 2008.
ECLAC forecast on Wednesday the region's economy will contract by 1.7 percent in 2009, worse than its previous forecast of a 0.3 percent contraction, due to falling international trade and remittances as well as H1N1 flu.
"In light of 2009 economic growth forecasts, we expect the average annual urban unemployment rate to rise to a range of 8.7 percent and 9.1 percent, compared to the 7.5 percent registered in 2008," the UN bodies said in a joint statement.
That would mean the number of the region's unemployed would rise by between 2.8 million and 3.9 million people this year from the 15.9 million registered in 2008.
Latin American economies have slowed sharply in recent months as the global crisis choked demand at home and abroad.
ECLAC said last month it expected foreign direct investment in Latin America to fall by 35 to 45 percent this year from a record $128.3 billion in 2008.
Foreign direct investment in Latin America rose 13 percent in 2008 from a year earlier, though Mexico was a notable exception, with investment down 20 percent last year compared to 2007, according to previously released ECLAC data. (Writing by Simon Gardner; Editing by James Dalgleish)