Youth Employment and the Future of Work

Despite differing circumstances, young people in Europe are facing a number of common problems and challenges within their respective societies. The issue of (un)employment of young people remains one of the crucial challenges for youth policy in general. At the same time it is one of the most closely monitored aspects of the situation of young people. Available data indicate that young people in nearly all European countries go through a prolonged transition period between leaving the education system and entering the labour market, and that this entry is often problematic. The school-to-work transition of young people is extended and punctuated by frequent spells of unemployment, precarious jobs, attempts to start a business and/or nd work abroad and combining education with paid work of some kind. Rates of unemployment among young people are very high. Large numbers of jobless young people are discouraged, are no longer seeking employment and are not even included in unemployment statistics. The widespread phenomenon of unregistered work in the grey economy with no written contracts, social or other bene its or security remains one of the main challenges in some European countries. Disadvantaged groups, such as young people with little education, young women, disabled youth and minority youth like the Roma are disproportionately affected.