A report examined the reasons for the growth in temporary employment for young people across the European Union, and access to social protection for young people on temporary or fixed-term contracts. Drawing on data from the European Restructuring Monitor, it said that young people had been particularly affected by the recession, and a large proportion of workers aged 25 and under (42 per cent compared with 10 per cent of workers aged 25-64) were employed on temporary contracts. The report reviewed the measures employed to regulate the use of these contracts in various countries, and discussed options.
Source: Manos Matsaganis, Nirina Rabemiafara, and Terry Ward, Young People and Temporary Employment in Europe, European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions
Date: 2013-Dec
A think-tank report examined youth unemployment in Europe and the roles played by education and training, business behaviour, and labour market institutions in young people's transitions from compulsory schooling to work. The report noted some common factors, such as casualization and a shift to lower skilled work. However, the issues varied across the European countries and, for some countries, there were deeper structural issues around the employment market and education system which pre-dated the economic crisis.
Source: Spencer Thompson, Youth Unemployment in Europe: States of uncertainty, Institute for Public Policy Research
Links: Report | IPPR press release | AOC press release
Date: 2013-Nov
A report said that early career patterns for young people in the European Union differed between genders, with women falling more often into unsuccessful paths (inactivity, part-time, temporary contracts) than men. It stressed the need for a greater attention to gender differences in youth policies.
Source: Janneke Plantenga, Chantal Remery, and Manuela Samek Lodovici, Starting Fragile: Gender differences in the youth labour market, European Network of Experts on Gender Equality (European Commission)
Links: Report
Date: 2013-Sep
A paper examined the relationship between labour market conditions and schooling decisions in Italy, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Labour market conditions significantly influenced the choice of post-compulsory secondary education in Italy and the United Kingdom: but responses to such incentives were heterogeneous with respect to housing tenure. In Germany, labour markets did not affect the choice of the secondary school track, whereas they had a significant impact on the transition to tertiary education.
Source: Alberto Tumino, The Effect of Local Labour Market Conditions on Educational Choices: A cross country comparison, ImPRovE Discussion Paper 13/06, Centre for Social Policy (Antwerp University)
Links: Paper
Date: 2013-Sep
An article examined the migration response of young people from new European Union member states to disparate conditions in an enlarged EU at the onset of the global economic recession. Migration intentions were high among those not married and among males with children: but both categories were also over-represented among people with only temporary as opposed to long-term or permanent migration plans. Whereas age affected migration intentions negatively, education had no effect on whether working abroad was envisaged. However, conditional on envisaging working abroad, completion of education (if after the 16th birthday) was associated with long-term (at least five years), but not permanent, migration plans. Socio-demographic variables explained about as much variation of migration intentions as self-reported 'push and pull factors' and migration constraints.
Source: Martin Kahanec and Brian Fabo, 'Migration strategies of crisis-stricken youth in an enlarged European Union', Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, Volume 19 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Aug
An article examined the social mobilization of young people in European countries over the previous four years in the context of economic crisis, austerity policies, and worsening conditions for young people.
Source: Maria da Paz Campos Lima and Antonio Martin Artiles, 'Youth voice(s) in EU countries and social movements in southern Europe', Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, Volume 19 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Aug
An article examined the development of youth unemployment in Europe during 2001-2010.
Source: Hans Dietrich, 'Youth unemployment in the period 2001-2010 and the European crisis: looking at the empirical evidence', Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, Volume 19 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Aug
Two articles examined policy responses to early school leaving in European countries.
Source: Alistair Ross and Carole Leathwood, 'Problematising early school leaving', European Journal of Education, Volume 48 Issue 3 | Kristof De Witte, Ides Nicaise, Jeroen Lavrijsen, Georges Van Landeghem, Carl Lamote, and Jan Van Damme, 'The impact of institutional context, education and labour market policies on early school leaving: a comparative analysis of EU countries', European Journal of Education, Volume 48 Issue 3
Links: Abstract (1) | Abstract (2)
Date: 2013-Aug
A paper examined youth unemployment in Europe, and assessed different policy options. It emphasized the role of stronger intra-European Union mobility of young workers, policies to make vocational training systems more effective, and policies to adjust employment protection as well as active labour market policies. Short-term remedies were not available: but European countries should take the opportunity of the crisis to implement forward-looking structural reforms.
Source: Werner Eichhorst, Holger Hinte, and Ulf Rinne, Youth Unemployment in Europe: What to Do about It?, Discussion Paper 65, Institute for the Study of Labor (Bonn)
Links: Paper
Date: 2013-Jul
A report said that the jobs gap in developed (OECD) countries between well educated young people and those who had left school early had continued to widen during the global economic crisis. Unemployment rates were nearly three times higher among people without an upper secondary education (13 per cent on average) than among those who had a tertiary education (5 per cent). It said that too many youngsters in the United Kingdom dropped out of education and were left without skills needed to get jobs: the UK had one of the lowest percentages of young people aged 16-19 in education among OECD countries. In 2011, young people aged 15-29 in the UK spent on average 2.3 years unemployed, compared with 1.7 years in Germany and 1.1 years in the Netherlands. Almost one-quarter of those in the UK who failed to achieve basic secondary qualifications ended up in the so-called 'Neet' category – not in education, employment or training.
Source: Education at a Glance 2013, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Links: Report | OECD press release | ATL press release | CBI press release | Labour Party press release | NUT press release | Russell Group press release | UCU press release | Universities UK press release | BBC report | Daily Mail report | Guardian report (1) | Guardian report (2)
Date: 2013-Jun
An article examined the political participation of young people in national democracies in 15 European Union member states. Social inequalities of participation were (with the major exception of voting) found to be much less profound for young people than for other groups.
Source: James Sloam, '"Voice and equality": young people s politics in the European Union', West European Politics, Volume 36 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Jun
European social partners published a framework of solutions designed to reduce youth unemployment. They said that a multi-pronged approach was needed to foster dynamic, open, and mobile labour markets for young people. Measures and appropriate resources should focus on the creation of more and better jobs, high-quality learning outcomes, and a better match between skills supply and demand, including through the spread of work-based learning across Europe.
Source: Framework of Actions on Youth Employment, European Social Partners
Links: Framework | ETUC press release
Notes: European Social Partners = European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), Confederation of European Business, European Association of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (UEAPME), and European Centre of Employers and Enterprises Providing Public Services (CEEP)
Date: 2013-Jun
An article examined the development of European youth unemployment policies. The Europe 2020 Strategy and its flagship initiatives devoted to youth did not constitute a new policy field or approach: they were rather the outcome of an incrementalist logic of policy development. The European youth strategy was clearly committed to activation, and it pushed policy developments towards a minimalist policy approach of 'precarious protection'.
Source: Christian Lahusen, Natalia Schulz, and Paolo Roberto Graziano, 'Promoting social Europe? The development of European youth unemployment policies', International Journal of Social Welfare, Volume 22 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-May
An article examined the emergence of 'youth unemployment regimes' in Europe – coherent measures and policies aimed at providing state responses to youth unemployment. Cross-national variations were found that did not fit the traditional typologies of comparative welfare studies. There had been, however, a common trend toward a flexibilization of the labour market, regardless of the prevailing welfare regime.
Source: Manlio Cinalli and Marco Giugni, 'New challenges for the welfare state: the emergence of youth unemployment regimes in Europe?', International Journal of Social Welfare, Volume 22 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-May
A report examined social exclusion suffered by young people in the European Union, and the positive effects that youth work initiatives produced.
Source: Giulia Paolini (with Anna Horvath and Ana Sofia De Almeida Coutinho), Youth Social Exclusion and Lessons from Youth Work: Evidence from literature and surveys, Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (European Commission)
Links: Report
Date: 2013-May
A think-tank report examined how well developed (OECD) countries lived up to the principles of inter-generational justice. It considered how clearly such principles could be measured, and how cross-national comparisons could help foster more strategic policy-making.
Source: Pieter Vanhuysse, Intergenerational Justice in Aging Societies: A cross-national comparison of 29 OECD countries, Bertelsmann Foundation
Links: Report
Date: 2013-Apr
A study provided an overview of the employment situation of young and old workers in European Union member states, and policies implemented to promote the employment of both groups. The evidence showed that there was no competition between young and older workers in the labour market. Structural or general policies to enhance the functioning of EU labour markets were crucial to improving the situation of both groups.
Source: Werner Eichhorst, Tito Boeri, Michela Braga, An De Coen, Vicenzo Galasso, Maarten Gerard, Michael Kendzia, Christine Mayrhuber, Jakob Louis Pedersen, Ricarda Schmidl, and Nadia Steiber, Combining the Entry of Young People in the Labour Market with the Retention of Older Workers, European Parliament
Links: Report
Date: 2013-Apr
A paper examined the migration response of young people from new European Union member states in the wake of the global economic recession. Migration intentions were high among single people and among males with children: but both categories were also overrepresented among people with only temporary as opposed to long-term or permanent migration plans. Education had no effect on whether working abroad was envisaged.
Source: Martin Kahanec and Brian Fabo, Migration Strategies of the Crisis-Stricken Youth in an Enlarged European Union, Discussion Paper 7285, Institute for the Study of Labor (Bonn)
Links: Paper
Date: 2013-Mar
A report examined the implementation of active inclusion policy in European countries for young people with disabilities or health problems. Policy and practice needed to focus more keenly on these young people, to learn from available evidence, and to take a more joined-up approach to service delivery.
Source: Donal McAnaney, Richard Wynne, Edwin DeVos, Femke Reijenga, Claude Delfosse, and Jan Spooren, Active Inclusion of Young People with Disabilities or Health Problems, European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions
Date: 2013-Jan
A report presented the views and experiences of over 120 children and young people across Europe on violence in custody, and set out their suggestions for change.
Source: Speaking Freely: Children and young people in Europe talk about ending violence against children in custody, Children's Rights Alliance for England
Links: Report | CRAE press release
Date: 2013-Jan
