Youth employment: Characteristics, tensions and challenges

Youth employment problems affect not only the welfare of young people themselves but also some key elements of socio-economic development in general. This article examines the circumstances, origins and consequences of these problems and reviews the statistical information available on recent trends in youth employment variables. The figures show that the occupational position of young people has deteriorated in absolute terms along with labour markets generally and that, contrary to some expectations, it has not improved in relative terms either. Working conditions are also found to vary greatly by education level, gender and household characteristics, among other factors. The article then identifies a number of tensions between the subjective perceptions of the young and the reality of the labour market, and reviews options for improving the youth employment situation with regard to the issues of employability, equal opportunities for young men and young women, entrepreneurship and employment creation.