TUAC - TRADE UNION ADVISORY COMMITTEE TO THE OECD

13/05/2013

The 2013 issue of the International Labour Organization (ILO) report on Global Employment Trends for Youth 2013 “is a welcome and timely wake-up call. It reminds us that the youth employment crisis is a crisis we can’t afford and it calls for immediate and effective action to promote youth employment”, according to the TUAC Secretary General, John Evans.

The report emphasizes the importance of macroeconomic factors on youth employment, in particular of the demand side. It concludes that the “youth employment crisis will not be overcome without stronger employment growth. This requires coordinated policy efforts to support aggregate demand through pro-employment macroeconomic policies.”

According to the ILO global youth unemployment is estimated to have reached 73.4 million young people out of work in 2013, which is an increase by 3.5 million since 2007 and 0.8 million above the 2011 level. Since 2009, youth unemployment is particularly high in advanced economies, with the exception of a few countries, among them Switzerland, Norway and Germany. Hardly any progress has been made in reducing youth unemployment with projections for 2014 showing a further increase. Moreover, economic growth, which is predicted to remain weak or stagnant in many economies in the short and medium-term, is not expected to bring better job prospects for the youth at the global level. Consequently, current projections suggest that the youth unemployment rate in advanced economies will not drop below 17 per cent before 2016.

The ILO report also provides evidence that the massive increase in youth unemployment simultaneously results in an increased duration of unemployment. In the OECD countries, on average more than one-third of the unemployed youth had been out of work for at least six months in 2011. High and increasing unemployment rates have not only contributed to longer periods of job search, they have also caused many young people to give up the search for a job altogether – getting discouraged and becoming disconnected from the labour market. That has in turn contributed to an increase in the number of young people neither in employment nor in education or training, the “NEET” group. Those among the young, who are employed, find themselves increasingly in non-standard jobs, including temporary employment and part-time work. Evidence suggests that since the peak of the global economic crisis such work often is the only option available to young workers.

In the light of this alarming situation, TUAC Secretary General John Evans called upon the OECD Ministerial Council, which will meet later in the month, to adopt a bold and comprehensive action plan in order to tackle youth unemployment: “As youth unemployment is not primarily caused by allegedly failing education institutions and labour market regulations, structural reform policies won’t help to promote youth employment. The OECD must come up with an integrated strategy for growth and employment, including a ‘youth guarantee’ as part of a comprehensive set of labour market measures for the young.”

To read the full report, click here:
http://www.ilo.org/global/research/global-reports/global-employment-trends/youth/2013/WCMS_212423/lang--en/index.htm