Geneva - The global financial crisis could cost some 20 million jobs worldwide, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) warned Monday.

ILO Director-General Juan Somavia issued the warning in Geneva, coupled with the advice that "we need prompt and coordinated government actions to avert a social crisis that could be severe, long-lasting and global."

By current calculations, worldwide unemployment could rise from 190 million last year to a level of 210 million by the end of 2009.