MANILA, Philippines - A study says Asia's working women are the most serious casualties of the economic downturn, with casual laborers the first to get fired and young women trailing men in employment opportunities.

The report issued Friday by the International Labor Organization and the Asian Development Bank says women in the Asia-Pacific region have traditionally been treated as secondary household earners.

Their limited access to work opportunities is costing regional economies $47 billion annually in potential income. The region stands to lose another $30 billion yearly because of gender gaps in education at a crucial time when it leads the global economic recovery from the 2008 crisis.