Global Employment Trends for Youth. Expert Paper No.2013/1

Youth underemployment, unemployment, and situations in which young people give up on their job search impose significant costs to the economy, society, individuals and their families. A lack of decent work, if experienced at an early age, threatens the person’s future employment prospects and frequently leads to an inadequate insertion into the labour market that can last a lifetime. There is a demonstrated link between youth unemployment and social exclusion. An inability to find employment creates a sense of uselessness and idleness among youth that can lead to increased crime, mental health problems, violence, and drug use. Consequently, there are obvious personal benefits accruing to young people by making the most of the productive potential of youth and ensuring the availability of decent employment opportunities for them.