Unemployment Literature Review
Among the youth, unemployment rates refer to the number of young people who are between the ages of 15 and 24 with no work to do despite them being readily available to work, and in the last four weeks of their lives, they have taken some measures intended to change their work situation as a percentage of the civilian labor force. People under this age bracket include students who are just finishing their basic education and are preparing for lives in the career world as well as young professionals who are seeking to establish a certain professional trade and gather valuable experience while working on it. Unemployment impacts the youth both psychologically and physically, caused by low self-esteem and a sense of unworthiness. This paper reviews the various causes and impacts of youth unemployment across the globe, and the different approaches that are being used to address the issue.
Causes and Impacts of Youth Unemployment
An International Monetary Fund publication of 2019, presented the number of youths between 15 to 24 years who did not attend a school or do any work from 2003 to 2016 at about 25% in developing markets and regions, and about 10% in the developed nations (International Labour Organization (ILO), 2016). Countries like South Africa, Spain, and Greece had the highest unemployment rates among the youth, with more than half of their active youth being jobless. Young people are categorized as being an at-risk group in the global labor market. Scholars such as (Tomić, 2018), (Baah-Boateng, 2016) and ( Pastore, 2018), agree that this group of people faces a higher risk of being unemployed, are forced to perform temporary or hazardous assignments. Also, they are constantly juggling between being jobless, attending personal improvement training, and finding steady work to do than older people. Limited experience in the labor market is a contributing factor to youth unemployment, as many young job seekers are prone to quickly change between jobs while getting to learn more about their aptitudes and work preferences.
This generally leads to high employee turnover rates in companies that engage many youths as well as sustained unemployment periods among this demographic. Elder (2015), posits that due to the structure of formal education that is present in most countries, many youths who are in their formative years are forced into periods of inactivity in the labor market, and where youth have access to jobs, there are low attachment levels recorded. Boeri & van Ours (2018) agree with Elder, adding that business entities usually shy away from committing to heavily invest in nurturing young industry professionals, as the costs of terminating such employees are also low. This means that there is a low demand for youth positions in the labor market.
Baah-Boateng (2016), Moore (2019), and Anosike (2019) agree that sustained rates of unemployment have been found to be linked with mental distress and financial hardship among the youth. This affects them both at present and in their future wages, diminished well-being in the quality of life, and also an increased tendency to be involved in crime. Tomić (2018) contends that losses incurred to foregone taxable payments and social security amounts that could have been recovered from jobless youth, while at the same time incurring increased direct costs of unemployment benefits or social aid as a result of a shifting demographic and overdependence on older employees.
Dealing with Youth Unemployment
According to Moore (2019), some regions of the globe have chosen to solve unemployment by enhancing their educational programs. This is achieved by increasing access to basic education, promoting youth empowerment programs while pushing for the self-employment strategy, generating entrepreneurship interest, and reducing the retirement age. Since many of these strategies and policies have been in existence with slow results being witnessed, other scholars are beginning to approach the unemployment issue from a more youth-centered and engagement approach. For example, Buheji (2019) explains that more emphasis is now being placed in encouraging the youth to be more innovative, competitive, and visionaries.
This inclusive approach is what Riphahn & Zibrowius (2016) agree with. In countries that have managed to create elaborate apprenticeship programs and have integrated vocational education into their curriculum, many of their youth population are gaining smooth entry into the job market than those with only a generalized curriculum. This varied method of curriculum implementation enables students to gain some form of work experience, thus reducing the amount of time their youth become inactive. At the same time, education policies that safeguard both skilled and technical professions should be formed, to avoid things like crowding-out entirely (Anosike, 2019). Active labor market policies have a significant role in transitioning more youth into the workforce while developing and equipping those who are yet to find employment (Boeri & van Ours, 2018). Policies such as labor market training can be used to integrate unemployed youths into active roles. Increasing counseling and job search coaching, performing wage subsidies, and enhancing municipal work programs, will help to increase the hands-on experience, commitment, and motivation levels for entry into the labor market.
Conclusion
Youth unemployment refers to the state where young people are available to work and are actively looking for work but have not got any yet. Researchers agree that high youth unemployment levels in the labor market are a result of weak stimulation of demand in youth labor, the non-attached nature of youth, and an educational mismatch. To overcome this, creative policies and programs should be established to make the youth career ready as they finish their educative years as well as improve the industry’s preparedness for youths in the workplace. Studies and benchmark policies have shown that it is crucial to involve young people in making decisions about their future lives if global youth unemployment rates are to be reduced and appropriately managed. Hence the need for well laid sociopsychological plans that seek to provide the youth with an edge as they enter the labor force.
References
Anosike, P. (2019). Entrepreneurship education as human capital: Implications for youth self-employment and conflict mitigation in Sub-Saharan Africa. Industry and Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.1177/0950422218812631
Baah-Boateng, W. (2016). The youth unemployment challenge in Africa: What are the drivers? Economic and Labour Relations Review. https://doi.org/10.1177/1035304616645030
Boeri, T., & van Ours, J. (2018). Active Labor Market Policies. In The Economics of Imperfect Labor Markets. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt32bc18.17
Buheji, M. (2019). Youth Unemployment Mitigation Labs-An Empathetic Approach for Complex Socio-Economic Problem. 9(3), 93–105. https://doi.org/10.5923/j.economics.20190903.02
Elder, S. (2015). What does NEETs mean and why is the concept so easily misinterpreted? ILO. Technical Brief.
International Labour Organization (ILO). (2016). World employment and social outlook: Trends for Youth. In Ilo.
Moore, K. (2019). Jobactive and young job seekers: Strengths, limitations, and suggested improvements to current practices. Australian Journal of Public Administration. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8500.12385
Pastore, F. (2018). Why is youth unemployment so high and different across countries? IZA World of Labor. https://doi.org/10.15185/izawol.420
Riphahn, R. T., & Zibrowius, M. (2016). Apprenticeship, vocational training, and early labor market outcomes – evidence from East and West Germany. Education Economics. https://doi.org/10.1080/09645292.2015.1027759
Tomić, I. (2018). What drives youth unemployment in Europe? Economic vs. non-economic determinants. International Labour Review. https://doi.org/10.1111/ilr.12113