ACTIVE LABOR MARKET POLICIES AGAINST YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT IN TIMES OF AUSTERITY: THE CASE OF GREECE

Abstract

The austerity measures that Greece is invited to implement since 2009, when the country was formally announced as being in an economic crisis, resulted in a massive loss of jobs, limited government spending and created a rift in the social safety net. Youth unemployment is a complex economic and social phenomenon, the treatment of which is at the heart of economic and social policy. The unemployment rate increased for all age groups between 2008 and 2013. Youth unemployment policies are included in the new part of the general category of ALMP (Active Labor Market Policy). The key features of active labor market policies is that they constitute a supplement to the basic employment policy, as they are only small-scale interventions and targeted at specific groups of workers. The main purpose of this paper is to study the impact of active labor market policies against efforts to tackle youth unemployment, depending on the phase of the transition experience, such as whether young workers live alone or with their parents, whether they are married and have children, etc. Keywords : Unemployment, Youth, Economic Crisis, Active Labor Market Policies