Breaking New Ground - Partnership for More and Better Jobs for Young People - Issue Note

The theme of the 2012 ECOSOC Annual Ministerial Review (AMR) will be “Promoting productive capacity, employment and decent work to eradicate poverty in the context of inclusive, sustainable and equitable economic growth at all levels for achieving the Millennium Development Goals”. A preparatory event will focus on the key topic of more and better jobs for young people worldwide. Youth employment is essential for stability and national economic development and for achieving the internationally-agreed development goals. The event will not only discuss youth employment challenges, but will also stimulate practical discussions on how collaboration among governments, social partners, the private sector and young people themselves can be maximized in order to increase employment and broad-based economic growth. This paper highlights some of the issues that are key to addressing the youth employment challenges at international and national levels and proposes a number of areas of intervention that could be explored to improve the situation of young people in the labour market.