Paris - The economies of the world's industrial nations will contract by an average of 4.3 per cent in 2009, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said Tuesday in Paris.

In addition, unemployment rates in many OECD member countries will surpass 10 per cent by the end of 2010, the OECD said in its Economic Outlook Interim Report.

Describing the current economic crisis as "the deepest and most widespread recession for more than 50 years," the OECD said that international trade would plunge by 13 per cent his year and world economic activity was to shrink by 2.7 per cent.

"The big emerging economies will also suffer abrupt slowdowns in growth," the OECD said.

The US economy is forecast to contract by 4.0 per cent in 2009, while remaining unchanged the following year. The GDP of eurozone countries is seen to shrink by 4.1 per cent this year and Japan's was forecast to plunge by 6.6 per cent.

A recovery is likely not to begin until the middle of 2010, the OECD said. But the US economy could emerge out of its recession sooner than others depending on the effectiveness of its stimulus packages.

"The Interim Outlook adds that the risks of an even gloomier scenario outweigh the possibility of a quicker recovery," the OECD cautioned.

"The most important risk is that the weakening real economy will further undermine the health of financial institutions, which in turn deepens the slump in economic activity." (dpa)