Tackling Unemployment Among Disadvantaged Young People

Youth have always had higher unemployment rates – about twice or more than the average – as they are usually the last to be hired in an expansion and the first to be let go in a recession. In addition, young people engage in extensive job searching in their early years, and this can imply considerable job churning as both youth and employers look for a good match. This highlights the importance of facilitating the school-to-work transition and having early interventions to assist such youth before negative conditions set in. It also highlights the potential importance of determining those young people most “at risk” of long-term unemployment, and of targeting or streaming them into programmes that will yield the largest incremental net benefits given their characteristics. Unemployed youth without previous work experience often are not eligible for unemployment insurance benefits when they first enter the labour market. When they do receive job search assistance, they often face a bewildering array of programmes that are available to assist them, often with little guidance to help them select the programs that best meet their needs. Consequently, ensuring that today’s youth do not become a “lost generation” is an urgent matter. George Bernard Shaw once said that it is too bad that “youth is wasted on the young”, implying that youth do not realize the opportunities they have as youth and only see them as they get older. There is a danger, however, that many of today’s youth may be never have those opportunities and hence not even see them with hindsight. This book and others in the ADAPT Labour Studies Book-Series are intended to deal with these challenges, to make sure that youth is not wasted on the young.

This study discusses in depth the youth unemployment "problem" and examines the various policy responses to it, including education and training, and active labour market policy. It emphasizes the need for adequate labour market information, policy monitoring and programme evaluation to help provide more and better-quality jobs for young people - while also offering specific recommendations and guidelines for this age group in industrialized, transition and developing countries, While analysing the characteristics, causes and consequences of youth unemployment, the study explores the nature of the youth labour market and how it differs from the labour market for other workers. It looks at minimum wages, as well as the pivotal role of education and training systems. It also identifies vital ILO instruments concerned with young people and examines the broader international policy challenges faced by many countries around the world. In particular, it discusses the failure of many countries to integrate young people into good, quality employment. Active labour market policies, both successful and unsuccessful, are evaluated, and the book looks closely at policies promoting wage employment, self-employment and programmes aimed at disadvantaged young people. The book reveals how youth unemployment is first and foremost a consequence of poor macroeconomic performance and suggests ways in which countries can formulate coordinated youth employment policies according to the state of their economies. In contrast to prevalent approaches in the literature, it emphasizes the need to go beyond a purely supply-side response. The study includes strategies for involving governments, as well as employers' and workers' organizations, in tackling youth unemployment and providing alternatives.

This informative book discusses in depth the youth unemployment "problem" and examines the various policy responses to it, including education and training, and active labor market policy. It emphasizes the need for adequate labor market information, policy monitoring and program evaluation to help provide more and better quality jobs for young people --while also offering specific recommendations and guidelines for this age group in industrialized, transition and developing countries.

This concluding report of the Jobs for Youth series analyses the situation of youth employment and unemployment in the context of the jobs crisis and identifies successful policy measures in OECD countries as well as structural reforms in education and in the labour market that can help.

A comprehensive review was undertaken of the serious problem of youth unemployment in the countries of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) (most of the countries of Europe and the United States), and the means for dealing with it in the longer term. The study found that youth unemployment has been a major concern since the mid-1970s, rising with each downturn of the economy, and failing to recover with economic recovery. Today, unemployment for disadvantaged youth has increased, but so has unemployment among better-educated and better-trained young people, especially for those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Labor force participation rates for youth have dropped in nearly all the countries, especially among teenagers. Young women have experienced similar rates of unemployment as young men; however, causes are subtle and often relate to the types of jobs for which girls are trained. Nations should adapt policies to help youths find employment. One solution is economic growth, but even an annual growth of 4 percent will not solve the youth umemployment problem for about five years. Consequently, shorter-term policies, such as school or travel grants or government-sponsored jobs, are needed to help youth. Especially at risk are disabled youth, whose unemployment problem is even worse than that of the disadvantaged. Additionally, sex-fair educational practices should be started to help young women prepare for careers. Youth unemployment is a very serious problem that cannot be ignored by the countries of the OECD. The appendices consist of an article by L. C. Hunter (The Role of Labour Demand in Youth Employment and Unemployment) and an OECD committee report. (KC)

In the aftermath of the Great Recession of 2007-2009, youth unemployment in the United States reached its highest level since the Second World War. Only about half of young people ages 16 to 24 held jobs in 2013, and recent estimates suggest that about one in five people in this age range were neither working nor in school. This paper draws from an MDRC review of literature on labor market trends and employment-related programs for youth over the past 30 years. It aims to inform the search for demand-side solutions by providing a better understanding of: (1) factors that potentially drive high rates of unemployment among young adults; (2) the current state of evidence on employment-related interventions for youth, especially economically disadvantaged youth; and (3) future directions for change that involve stronger employer involvement. An appendix presents: "Selected Rigorous Evaluations of Job-Related Programs for Youth."

Following the 2008 economic crisis, the situation for young people deteriorated dramatically in many European countries. Employment and training opportunities have reduced, and levels of poverty and social exclusion have increased. This book evaluates both institutional frameworks and programmes as well as the quantitative and qualitative basis of judgements in European youth policies that dominate current strategies. This book evaluates both institutional frameworks and programmes as well as the quantitative and qualitative basis of judgements in European youth policies.

In the past four decades, profound changes in the U.S. economy--including falling wages, widening inequality, and the polarization of jobs at the top and bottom of the education and wage distributions--have had dramatic implications for the labor-market fortunes of young adults. Only about half of young people ages 16 to 24 held jobs in 2014, and about one in five people in this age range were neither working nor in school. The problem is most severe for disadvantaged groups, including less educated, low-income, and minority young people, especially young men of color. Most efforts to improve employment outcomes for young people have focused on supply-side strategies such as education, training, work experience, or developmental activities. MDRC recently conducted an extensive review of literature on labor-market trends and employment-related programs for young people, and identified some common features of successful supply-side programs. Yet hiring practices have continued to evolve since much of the research covered in the review was done, and new approaches may be necessary to address those changes. Stakeholders interested in improving the employment outlook of young people on a large scale are increasingly interested in demand-side approaches--that is, engaging employers to take action on this issue. New research is needed into what types of demand-side interventions can be successful. Given the magnitude of the unemployment problem facing young adults, potential solutions need to be adopted on a greater scale than the programs in the literature review generally contemplated. With all these issues in mind, on June 4, 2014, MDRC and The Rockefeller Foundation convened a group of academics and experts to discuss potential demand-side approaches to youth employment. The wide-ranging conversation reflected the diverse backgrounds of the attendees, who contributed insights from the worlds of education, economics, business, and social policy. This report discusses the following themes that emerged from the conversation: (1) Employers are a heterogeneous group with diverse needs, goals, and preferences; (2) Employers may respond to financial incentives, but incentives are not likely to be the only force motivating their decisions, and wage subsidies have actually been shown to stigmatize groups of workers; (3) Employers are more likely to engage in youth employment efforts if it is easy for them to do so, and if they believe it is a positive opportunity for their businesses; (4) Employers' growing use of third parties to recruit and screen new employees has significant implications for efforts to increase the hiring of disadvantaged young adults; (5) Widespread adoption of computerized applicant tracking systems has also changed the way employers interact with job seekers; (6) In the face of these changing practices, disadvantaged young workers need assistance communicating their skills and experience. Credentialing mechanisms could help; (7) Simple forms of support in entry-level jobs can put young adults on the path to success; and (8) To address the issue of youth unemployment at a transformative scale, demand-driven approaches can take on whole geographic areas or whole industries. The conversation and MDRC's review of research evidence both underscore the need for more definitive evidence to determine what works in helping disadvantaged young adults improve their labor-market outcomes.

Originally published in 1985, this book brings together diverse perspectives of global policy and experience concerning threatened or high levels of youth unemployment and the measures taken in the countries concerned. From the examples quoted it is obvious that there was little consensus concerning what one is led to believe life after school is about or what one would like life after school to be about, and how these expectations and aspirations may be accommodated.