Worldwide youth unemployment reaches record 4.5 million in 2009

[News_Editor]

Worldwide youth unemployment reaches record 4.5 million in 2009

2011-10-20 22:23:26 GMT+7 (ICT)

UNITED NATIONS (BNO NEWS) -- The worldwide unemployment rate among young people aged 15 to 24 between 2008 and 2009 rose from 11.8 percent to 12.7 percent, which is an increase of 4.5 million unemployed youth worldwide, according to a report released by the United Nations (UN).

The UN International Labor Organization (ILO), in its "Global Employment Trends for Youth: 2011 Update," notes that the recent global economic crisis led to a "substantial" increase in youth unemployment rates in both developed and developing countries, reversing earlier favorable trends over the past decade.

These new statistics reflect the frustration and anger that millions of youth around the world are feeling, adding that future prospects look grim as obtaining decent employment is becoming more difficult in countries around the world.

The unprecedented increase of 4.5 million unemployed youth worldwide represents the largest annual increase on record. The average increase of the pre-crisis period (1997-2007) was less than 100,000 people per year.

According to the report, the absolute number of unemployed youth fell slightly since its peak in 2009 - from 75.8 million to 75.1 million in late 2010 – and is expected to decline to 74.6 million this year.

However, this is more the result of youth withdrawing from the labor market rather than finding jobs, according to the UN. This is especially true in developed economies and the European Union region.

Millions of youth worldwide who are facing a dangerous mix of high unemployment, increased inactivity and precarious work is possibly developing a "scarred" generation, ILO warned.

If youth unemployment were examined alone, states the report, one might wrongly guess that young people in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa are doing well compared to the developed economies, when in fact the high employment-to-population ratios of youth in the poorest regions mean the poor have no choice but work.

"There are by far more young people around the world that are stuck in circumstances of working poverty than are without work or looking for work," the report points out.

Meanwhile, the report signaled the collective frustration among youth as a contributing factor to protest movements around the world this year, as it becomes increasingly difficult for young people to find anything other than part-time and temporary work.

The ongoing 'Great Recession', the report continued, brings not only current discomfort from unemployment, under-employment and the stress of social hazards associated with joblessness and prolonged inactivity, but also possible longer-term consequences in terms of lower future wages and distrust of the political and economic system.

José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, Executive Director of the ILO Employment Sector, said these new statistics reflect the frustration and anger that millions of youth around the world are feeling. He also noted that governments are struggling to find innovative solutions through labor market interventions such as addressing skills mismatches, job search support, entrepreneurship training and subsidies to hiring.

"These measures can make a difference, but ultimately more jobs must come from measures beyond the labor market that aim to remove obstacles to growth recovery such as accelerating the repair of the financial system, bank restructuring and recapitalization to re-launch credit to small- and medium-sized enterprises, and real progress in global demand rebalancing," Salazar-Xirinachs said.

The report also offers a series of policy measures for promoting youth employment, including developing an integrated strategy for growth and job creation with a focus on young people as well as improving the quality of jobs and investing in the quality of education and training.

Perhaps most important of all, according to the report, is to pursue financial and macroeconomic policies that aim to remove obstacles to economic recovery.

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