Transcript Presentation at NETSPAR conference on rethinking retirement

Engaging younger generations: the future of ESCs
Annual meeting of Presidents and Secretaries-general of European ESCs
The Hague, 9-10 November 2011
OFF TO A GOOD START?
LESSONS FROM THE OECD’S
JOBS FOR YOUTH REVIEWS
Anne Sonnet
Senior Economist
Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs, OECD
OECD, Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs
JOBS for YOUTH
Review of 16 countries in 2006-2010
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
9 EU countries: Belgium, Denmark, France, Greece, Netherlands,
Poland, Slovak Republic, Spain and United Kingdom
7 non-EU countries: Australia, Canada, Japan, Korea, Norway,
New Zealand and United States
Main Outputs
•
•
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16 country reports and a Synthesis report in December 2010
Off to a Good Start? Jobs for Youth
Jointly with the ILO, Giving Youth a Better Start, A report for the G-20
Employment and Labour Ministerial Meeting, Paris, 26-27 September
2011
Youth face a much higher
unemployment risk than adults
Youth unemployment rate
Ratio of the youtha to adult (25-54) unemployment rate, 2009
As a percentage of the corresponding labour force
40
ESP
36
4 times as large
32
2 times as large
OECD average
28
HUN
ITA
SWE
24
BEL
GRC
LUX
USA
CZE
NZL
CAN
ISL
TUR
PRT
POL
GBR CHL
16
IRL
FRA
FIN
20
SVK
Equal
AUT MEX AUS DNK
12
DEU
KOR
NOR
8
NLD
JPN
CHE
4
0
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Adult unemployment rate
a) Persons aged 15-24 (16-24 in Iceland, Spain, Sweden, UK and US).
Source: National labour force surveys.
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Youth employment on a declining trend
in many OECD countries over the last decade
Youtha employment rate, 2000 and 2010
As a percentage of the population aged 15/16-24
2010
2000
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
NLD
ISL
CHE
AUS
DNK
CAN
AUT
NOR
GBR
NZL
DEU
USA
MEX
FIN
OECD
JPN
SWE
SVN
FRA
IRL
CHL
TUR
PRT
ESP
ISR
EST
POL
BEL
CZE
KOR
LUX
SVK
ITA
GRC
HUN
0
a) Persons aged 15-24 (16-24 in Iceland, Spain, Sweden, UK and US).
Source: National labour force surveys.
www.oecd.org/els
Youth unemployment increased sharply
in the recent global economic crisis
Youtha unemployment rates, 2008 Q1-2011 Q1bc
As a percentage of the corresponding labour force
%
60
2008 Q1
2011 Q1
50
40
30
20
10
0
a) Persons aged 15-24 (16-24 for Spain, UK and US). b) 2007 Q4-2010 Q4 for Argentina; 2007 Q3-2010 Q3 for Indonesia. 2007-09 for
China, India and Indonesia. c) Selected urban areas for Argentina and Brazil.
Source: OECD calculations based on OECD Main Economic Indicators Database; and ILO,
short term Indicators of5 the Labour Market.
At-risk group: Youth neither in employment
nor in education or training (NEET)
NEET aged 15/16-24, 2009a
As a percentage of the population aged 15/16-24
%
Inactive
Long-term unemployed
Short-term unemployed
40
35
30
25
20
15
Unweighted average
10
5
0
a) Data for Indonesia refer to 2007; for Japan and South Africa to 2008. Persons aged 15-24 (16-24 for Spain, UK and US).
b) Data refer to total NEET rate.
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Source: OECD, Education
database for OECD countries and Brazil; Encuesta Permanente de Hogares (EPH) for
Argentina; Indonesia Family Life Survey, fourth wave for Indonesia; General Household Survey
for South Africa.
Key messages from the OECD’s work
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While the challenge of giving youth a better start is common to all
countries, the barriers faced by young people entering the labour
market differ across countries, as do the policy options to tackle
these barriers. Improving youth labour market outcomes requires an
in-depth understanding of country-specific issues.
However, some common trends in terms of policy responses are
emerging:
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
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Policies that promote strong and sustainable growth are vital
to give youth a fair chance in the world of work.
Improving school-to-work transitions requires action on
multiple fronts:
education and training; labour market
programmes; and labour market institutional settings.
Improving school-to-work transitions
Education and training
•
Ensure that youth acquire basic foundation skills and leave education with the skills that
are required by employers and needed for life-long-learning.
Labour market programmes
•
Job-search assistance programmes are often the best way to help youth. Training
programmes work best when they are carefully tailored to local or national labour market
needs. Strengthening the support to provide to unemployed and disconnected youth needs
comprehensive programmes that include class-room instruction, on-the-job training and
adult mentoring.
Labour market institutional settings
•
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Employment protection regulations, social security programmes and minimum wages
can play an important role in preventing the exploitation of youth in low-paid, precarious
jobs. However, an appropriate balance must be struck (possible role for social dialogue)
to ensure that these institutions support rather than hinder the creation of decent jobs for
youth.
Concluding remarks

Tackling the youth jobs crisis requires a strong commitment from all, the
youth themselves, the government through well-targeted and effective
measures, the social partners though their dialogue and other key actors,
such as NGOs, who can really make the difference in dealing with the
human dimension of this crisis.

Short-term cost-effective measures are needed to prevent most schoolleavers from being trapped in unemployment/inactivity. But the main target
group for intensive assistance should be the hard-core group.

There must be no let up in the longer-term reform efforts in education,
social protection and the labour market that are necessary to ensure youth
get a firm foothold in the labour market.
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JOBS for YOUTH
www.oecd.org/employment/youth
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G20 Delsa page