The Labour Market for Young People

Abstract

The last few years have seen a dramatic worsening of the labour market for young people with increasing unemployment rates and increasing long-term unemployment. Young people leaving school face bleak prospects, with a very low probability of finding work. In some ways, the 1980s appear to be a repeat of the hopeless days of the 1930s but fortunately with better social security support. This book looks at some aspects of the labour market for young people: the relationship between wages of young people and their (un)employment; the probability of finding work being dependent on individual (personal) characteristics; and some government policies to attack the problem of growing youth unemployment. A common message of this book is that to tackle the problem of youth unemployment we need to reflate the economy. Other policies (e.g., training schemes) may have a small impact and could be used in conjunction with reflation.