Youth Unemployment

[Jirayu2204]

Hi members,

There is an info about youth unemployed saying that ...." current world population includes an estimated 1.2 billion young people between the ages of 15 and 24 years, which is about 24.7% of the world’s working age population. Worldwide youth unemployment is high, almost 1/3 higher than the adult unemployment rate.

With the economic downturn, the worldwide youth unemployment is expected to reach 15% in 2009 (International Labor Organization, 2008). In certain parts of the world youth unemployment rates can be as high as 60%. More than one third of the young people in the world are unemployed, have completely given up looking for a job or are working but still living below the $2 a day poverty line (ILO), or have migrated...."

Thai Youth unemployment in 2009=1.40 %

This entry contains the percent of the labor force that is without jobs.

I'm not so sure if this youth unemployment rate effects much in Thailand since in the age of 15-24, most of the Thai teenagers are still in school.

In Thailand, kids will be paid a living until they finish school. We usually don't work part time if parents are able to afford schooling expense and a living. More over, kids in cities even go for extra classes after school or in their school break because things that seems to matter for them at that time is the exam.

The university entrance exam result is a ticket aids to a dream career, anyway not every career guarantee that you won't get sacked later when the econ break down. So... most of the Thai parents believe that study can aid a more stable career like in health science field e.g. Medicine, dentistry, nurse...etc. (these jobs are high wanted in job markets and still higher paid even if you work for the government) This makes the competition rate for these careers are high. So most Kids gotta go for extra classes to be able to get in. Ones who cant afford the extra classes gotta study hard on his holidays.

Only kids who are really in need go for a part time job or work full time as one labor force.

To help out kids who have no jobs, I heard that, in the US, when it comes summer time, many employer usually give priority to job applications from kids, is this true?

Just sharing the idea

Thanks

J

[barrybankruad]

Must admit That I'm not too well versed in the Thai education system recently, although I have 3 kids at school. One thing that I have noticed is that it is the girls who work the hardest and want to get on. For a while I did voluntary teaching of English at the local junior school and it didn't take me long to realise that the boys just weren't interested whilst most of the girls would pay attention to everything I was teaching them. Nearly all the doctors in the local hospital are female, and have been for some time.

Looking around my village, its always to seem the boys who are the local layabouts. They have dropped out of school, unemployed and unemployable. Rarely see many girls like this except those that have managed to get themselves pregnant at 14 or 15.

[slapout]

To the op, your question about the US job market for kids is not dissimilar to the adult job market. If you want to work you can find a summer/part time job, earning money. Many students around the world work while in high school and while continuing their college education. When the formal education is finished and the job hunting begins, many companies place more importance on a work history (summer/part time) than they would the additional classes taken to score well on tests.

I am amazed that a student from a middle class family, would even expect his/her parents to pay for their education and pay a living salary at the same time.

The college entrance exams indicate a individuals mental retention of prior subjects and their application to specific questions/problems. A university degree indicates that the individual is capable of following instructions/ guidelines and learning at this level. There are exceptions to both scenarios.

Many, if not most university gradates, end up working in a field outside their chosen major study field, immediately after university, just to enter the job market. Just my thoughts/experience on some of the op's post.

[geriatrickid]

The issue in Thailand is not unemployment. It is underemployment. There is a difference, but the impact upon social development is just as bad.

[Spee]

Newbie wrote:

"To help out kids who have no jobs, I heard that, in the US, when it comes summer time, many employer usually give priority to job applications from kids, is this true?"

This might have been true 30-40 years ago, but most of the opportunities like this these days are from government programs (where the applicant needs to be "juiced in" to have a chance). While it may be open to debate, IMHO, this erosion of opportunity has been caused by minimum wage laws. In my youth, I mowed lawns, delivered newspapers and worked in restaurants. A lot of those kinds of jobs aren't available to teenagers these days.

The situation is a little different with college kids, especially those in the technology, computer and engineering fields, where there is still a relative abundance of summer internships.

I think the most important thing for teenagers in Thailand (or anywhere else for that matter) is to be kept busy, whether from work, study, sports, music, etc. My parents did this with me. My siblings do this with their kids. My Thai partner and I are doing this with her 11-year-old daughter. She takes music. swimming and English lessons outside of school. She has assigned chores for cleaning and laundry around the house. In time, she will also help out at the farm.

Kids with idle time are kids that will grow up undisciplined or lazy and will find ways to get into trouble as they get older. I have seen parts of both worlds. It doesn't matter if the kids are in the US, Thailand or anywhere else. Youth unemployment doesn't have to mean idle youth. We spend 75% or more of our life working. The teenage years is the time to get this point across.

Edited March 7, 2010 by Spee

[robblok]

Newbie wrote:

"To help out kids who have no jobs, I heard that, in the US, when it comes summer time, many employer usually give priority to job applications from kids, is this true?"

This might have been true 30-40 years ago, but most of the opportunities like this these days are from government programs (where the applicant needs to be "juiced in" to have a chance). While it may be open to debate, IMHO, this erosion of opportunity has been caused by minimum wage laws. In my youth, I mowed lawns, delivered newspapers and worked in restaurants. A lot of those kinds of jobs aren't available to teenagers these days.

The situation is a little different with college kids, especially those in the technology, computer and engineering fields, where there is still a relative abundance of summer internships.

I think the most important thing for teenagers in Thailand (or anywhere else for that matter) is to be kept busy, whether from work, study, sports, music, etc. My parents did this with me. My siblings do this with their kids. My Thai partner and I are doing this with her 11-year-old daughter. She takes music. swimming and English lessons outside of school. She has assigned chores for cleaning and laundry around the house. In time, she will also help out at the farm.

Kids with idle time are kids that will grow up undisciplined or lazy and will find ways to get into trouble as they get older. I have seen parts of both worlds. It doesn't matter if the kids are in the US, Thailand or anywhere else. Youth unemployment doesn't have to mean idle youth. We spend 75% or more of our life working. The teenage years is the time to get this point across.

I wonder when you sleep old timer. Just saying that the first ten years of your life and the last 15 you dont work with an average age of 85. Makes it impossible to do anything else then working to come to your estimate. So no weekends.. no sleep nothing. So i think you are either bad at calculation or exaggerate a bit.

But i do agree that its good to keep kids busy but you should not use them as slave labor. Encourage them to work dont force them to work.

[WeeGB]

Must admit That I'm not too well versed in the Thai education system recently, although I have 3 kids at school. One thing that I have noticed is that it is the girls who work the hardest and want to get on. For a while I did voluntary teaching of English at the local junior school and it didn't take me long to realise that the boys just weren't interested whilst most of the girls would pay attention to everything I was teaching them. Nearly all the doctors in the local hospital are female, and have been for some time.

Looking around my village, its always to seem the boys who are the local layabouts. They have dropped out of school, unemployed and unemployable. Rarely see many girls like this except those that have managed to get themselves pregnant at 14 or 15.

I've got one teenage nephew here in Thailand, who is an absolute credit to his family. Hard working, does his best at everything, helps out with jobs around the family's houses, gardens etc. Last year, my wife asked him to help her build a small wall around our pond, and asked him to come at 7.30 a.m. he turned up at 6.45, ready for work - I can't think of any kids I've ever known, especially when I was in the UK, who would do that. His father incidentally is a hard working chap, who has obviously passed on these traits to his son. They also have a very good relationship, spend a lot of time together when Dad is home (he works in BKK).

His teenage sister, however, is lazy, down near the bottom of her college class, is supposed to have extra lessons on a week-end, but spends her time ( and her parents money), in the local internet cafe. She is an expert at manipulating her Dad, but then again so are many teenage daughters around the world.

On unemployment, there does seem to be a greater amount of feckless, idle, permanently drunk, absolutely unemployable, teenage boys in our village, and one girl, who not surprisingly, has a terrible reputation.

So based on what I see everyday, in our village, I'd tend to agree with you about the girls having the greater ambition. Not surprisingly, most of these wayward boys, have fathers who behave exactly the same way. What they see is what they copy.

Very sad, the high amount of unemployed youth in the world as a whole. This can only lead to more social problems in the future.

[bina]

robblok, some countries do not have weekends; we for instance have a six day work week and the work week hour is 40+ hours for minimum wage salary... not like in the states where 40 hour work week is the (maybe was?) norm... not sure if thailand has a weekend either? certainly agriculuture doesnt have a weekend in any country;

here, our kids (where i live, but not representative of city dwellers) work from age 13 on in designated jobs, and are also involved in youth movements/scout groups, and the usual extra curricular activities adn they still manage to find time to get in to minor and major trouble. then at 17+ they're in the army already, finish army, and then work/study together. by the time they are free to enjoy life, they are 23 yrs ol and thinking about career/marriage etc. not sure if thai upper middle class students also have to work to put themselves through school and payf or housing, but herre the kids (no matter what socioeconomic group theyre from) have to work to study or they just wont make it. after uni, its automatically work time.

bina

israel

[robblok]

robblok, some countries do not have weekends; we for instance have a six day work week and the work week hour is 40+ hours for minimum wage salary... not like in the states where 40 hour work week is the (maybe was?) norm... not sure if thailand has a weekend either? certainly agriculuture doesnt have a weekend in any country;

here, our kids (where i live, but not representative of city dwellers) work from age 13 on in designated jobs, and are also involved in youth movements/scout groups, and the usual extra curricular activities adn they still manage to find time to get in to minor and major trouble. then at 17+ they're in the army already, finish army, and then work/study together. by the time they are free to enjoy life, they are 23 yrs ol and thinking about career/marriage etc. not sure if thai upper middle class students also have to work to put themselves through school and payf or housing, but herre the kids (no matter what socioeconomic group theyre from) have to work to study or they just wont make it. after uni, its automatically work time.

bina

israel

Bina,

I was not talking about weekend.. he was just overstating it.

You sleep..

You should not count the first 15-20 years and the last 10 your not productive either

that means 25 out of you 84 years your already not working

then you take of your free time in the years your not working

so no way you can work 75% of your life.

Im not stating some people dont work a lot. I know i do but no way 75% of my whole life.

[Tejas]

The issue in Thailand is not unemployment. It is underemployment. There is a difference, but the impact upon social development is just as bad.

That is just what I was about to say........glad I saw your post first.

Most people think in terms of unemployment.

The greater issue is underemployment.

This is related to a reduction in quality of life for an entire generation.

It is also related to many other things, such as the mechanization of the economy, globalization of the economy, overpopulation........but that is a different story.

How will young people respond? "Get a rope and string up the people who did this?" "Continue dreaming?" "Blame outsiders?"

This population-youth-unemployment-underemployment situation can get very bad.........just look at the population pyramids for Syria and Pakistan.

China and India have a similar problem..........potentially explosive if those that rule ever allow the youth to see reality.

[Spee]

so no way you can work 75% of your life.

Im not stating some people dont work a lot. I know i do but no way 75% of my whole life.

Ugh ... give it a rest please. What I meant was entering the labor force in some capacity around 14-15 and exiting the labor force around 70. That means being in the labor force for about 55 years or appx 55/80 of your life. Ok, so it's 69% not 75%, but hopefully you get the drift.

Back to the main point of my response, and as others have indicated, it is important to keep kids busy and start building up the work ethic during their teenage years. Doesn't matter if they are Thai kids, Israeli kids, American kids, or any other. There are large numbers of people in every society with strong a strong work ethic, an average work ethic and little or no work ethic. Which would you think is most important to instill into a teenager? Which do you think is the most important for the upkeep of the civil society?

[BigWheelMan]

Back in the Stone Age when I left school at age 14, there was no shortage of jobs for school leavers or young people and the word apprentice was still a main part of the English language.

These days it`s a totally different scenario. The world of employment is much more competitive, no matter which country you live.

Many employers prefer 18 to 25 year olds, with 50 years job experience and paying them wages the amount of a school leaver. In other words, the marketing strategy is, grab more for less.

Unless a young person can gain some sort of paper qualifications and has working talents above and beyond their peers, then they will always be at the bottom of the ladder, given the least chances of suitable employment, work the longest hours and at the bottom of the wage chain.

It`s really up to the parents to ensure that their children take education seriously and support them. Otherwise I'm afraid in this high tech, high expectations world, career wise the kids don't have much hope of a secure future.

Edited March 10, 2010 by BigWheelMan