When the Global Crisis and Youth Bulge Collide: Double the Jobs Trouble for Youth

Abstract

This working paper: (i) describes recent labour market trends; (ii) analyzes how young people are experiencing a double employment crisis as a result of the demographic phenomenon known as the ‘youth bulge,’ which aggravates the already low demand for labour during the economic downturn; (iii) explores the household level impacts of the jobs crisis, with particular attention to the severe risks posed to children and young workers; (iv) discusses policy responses during the two phases of the crisis—fiscal expansion (2008-09) and fiscal contraction (2010- ); and (v) presents a UN agenda on how to generate decent employment, which covers macroeconomic and sector policy options along with labour-specific strategies to place jobs, especially for youth, at the center of recovery efforts.