Some more good news about employment. . . .


Fewer Young People Will Not Solve Problem of Youth Employment


"Between 1970 and 1994, unemployment rates for the 15-24 year-old age group in 11 European countries rose, on average, 16 percentage points, from 4.2 percent to 20.6 percent."

On the surface it would seem a simple supposition: You're a country with a large number of young people between the ages of 15 and 24, and also with high youth unemployment rates. Gazing down the demographic road, you notice that declining birth rates eventually will shrink this population group. This should mean that in the future, with relatively fewer youths entering the labor market and hence tighter labor markets for young workers, youth unemployment rates should drop. Unfortunately, it's not that simple, and countries currently experiencing a crisis in youth employment -- which includes a number of European nations -- should not expect demographics to come to the rescue. Although youth unemployment rates are likely to fall as youth population shares decline, the effects of population change are small compared with the longer-term increases in youth unemployment rates in many of these countries.

[link to www.nber.org]