Youth Employment crisis 2013
A generation at risk – Time for Action
Marta Makhoul
International Labour Office for the EU
and the Benelux countries
A lost generation?
2
An unprecedented youth employment crisis…
In 2012…
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75 million young people are unemployed worldwide
Globally young people are on average nearly three times more likely than adults to
be unemployed
Four out of every ten unemployed worldwide is a young women or man
Over 1.2 billion people in the world between 15 and 24 years of age
40 % of the world's unemployed are young people…. BUT…
But…
Facts on youth employment crisis
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….Unemployment is only the tip of the iceberg
 Inequalities, insecurity and vulnerability are rising
 Quality of jobs available for youth is declining
 Underemployment and poverty for youth is on the rise
 Young workers are disproportionately represented
in low-paid work
 Most young workers in developing countries are in the
informal economy.
 Temporary employment and lack of permanent employment for youth is rising
 More insecure and slower transition from school to work
Risk of SOCIAL UNREST
Youth are increasingly discouraged than other age groups.
Facts on youth employment crisis
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Global
youth unemployment and unemployment rate, 1991-2013
Source: ILO, Trends Econometric Models, February 2013.
Global and regional youth unemployment
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Global
youth and adult unemployment from 1991-2013
Global youth and adult unemployment rate
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European Union
Youth unemployment rates (%), from 2000 2013
Youth unemployment rates in the EU
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NEET rates in the EU
Young people not in employment and not in any education or training
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Consequences of youth unemployment
Is likely to become more serious the
longer youth unemployment crisis
continues
Raise risk of future unemployment
and/or protracted period of unstable
employment
Valuable work experience is not
acquired and professional skills may
erode
Effects more severe for youth
entering the workforce with
education level below tertiary level
Is likely to result in wage scars that
continue to depress employment and
earnings prospects
Consequences of youth unemployment
Consequences
of youth
unemployment
Youth are increasingly employed in
non-standard jobs, including
temporary employment and parttime work
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Youth labour markets in developing economies
Developing regions face major youth employment challenges and large variations
in extent and development of youth unemployment
Young workers often receive below average wages and are engaged in work for
which either overqualified or underqualified
Large numbers of young people not achieving full economic potential
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Unemployed
In irregular employment (informal sector)
Neither in labour force nor in education/training
quality of work
In countries with high poverty levels and high shares of vulnerable employment, youth
employment challenge is as much a problem of poor employment quality as one of
unemployment
Youth labour markets in developing economies
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Youth labour markets in developing economies
• Labour markets in developing economies do not look like those in developed economies
• Abundance of labour
• Scarcity of capital
• Duality between dominant traditional economies and “modern” economies
• Irregular nature of employment
• Leave education early
• Lack of social protection
• Different type of measurement needed
Youth labour markets in developing economies
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ILO’s response to the youth employment crisis: The 2012 ILC Resolution
“The Youth Employment Crisis: A call for action” and its follow-up plan
The Call for action focuses on five policy areas:
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4.
5.
employment and economic policies to increase aggregate
demand and improve access to finance;
education and training to ease the school-to-work transition;
labour market policies to target employment of disadvantaged
youth;
entrepreneurship and self-employment to assist potential young
entrepreneurs; and
labour rights that are based on international labour standards to
ensure that young people receive equal treatment.
ILO’s response to the youth employment crisis: 2012 ILC Resolution
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The ILO youth employment programme
 Knowledge building
 Advocacy and promotion of decent work for youth
 Technical assistance
ILO youth employment programme
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ILO Active Labour Market Policies: What works for youth?
• Policy measures should be balanced and adapted to country-specific needs
Balanced strategies for growth and
job creation
Comprehensive packages of labour
market measures targeting specific
groups of young people
Apprenticeships, skills training and
other work-training programmes
Platforms for exchanging knowledge
and lessons of what works
Targeted youth employment action
through tripartite consensus and
time-bound action plans
Employment services
Policies for youth employment
Policiy
measures
Multiple services for
entrepreneurship, social enterprises
and cooperatives development
Bipartite and tripartite cooperation
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Best-practice example: youth guarantee in Sweden
Sweden tackles youth unemployment through jobs guarantees
It's not easy being a young jobseeker today. With nearly 74 million young people
worldwide unemployed, youth guarantees programmes help keep youth connected
to the labour market by boosting skills and giving them support to find jobs.
http://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/multimedia/video/video-newsreleases/WCMS_212957/lang--en/index.htm
Best-practice example
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Thank you for your attention
More info:
http://ilo.org/global/research/global-reports/global-employment-trends/youth/2013/lang-en/index.htm
http://www.ilo.org/global/topics/youth-employment/lang--en/index.htm
http://www.ilo.org/ilc/ILCSessions/101stSession/texts-adopted/WCMS_185950/lang--en
/index.htm