At the start of the new century, youth employment problems continue to pervade both developed and developing countries, with a disproportionately large number of young women and men exposed to long-term unemployment or else limited to precarious or short-term work. As a result, many drop out of the workforce or fail to enter it successfully in the first place and become inactive. Socially disadvantaged youth are particularly affected, thereby perpetuating a vicious cycle of poverty and social exclusion. In developing countries, where very few can afford to be openly unemployed, the employment problem is more one of underemployment and low pay and low quality jobs in the typically large informal sector. Consequently, the promotion of productive employment for young women and men is high on the decent work agenda of the International Labour Organization (ILO). Its efforts in this field are guided by the recognition that effective policies and programmes are needed to improve their living standards and to facilitate their full integration into society.
The ILO has adopted the following mix of strategies to address the youth employment challenge:
Establishing a framework for promoting decent work for young people through its fundamental Conventions and other Conventions and Recommendations that relate to their employment and protection.
Raising awareness of youth employment issues among its member States. Youth employment has been included on the agenda of several sessions of the International Labour Conference (ILC) (1986, 1996, 1998 and 2000). In 1998, the International Labour Conference adopted a Resolution on Youth Employment.
Undertaking research on youth employment issues, including on innovative and effective policies and practices for enhancing opportunities for young people in employment and enterprises.
Preparing and disseminating user-friendly policy tools and manuals of good practice on youth employment policies and programmes.
Establishing and maintaining databases that provide information on the employment situation of youth worldwide. The Key Indicators of the Labour Market (KILM) database, for example, includes gender-disaggregated data on the youth unemployment rate; the ratio of youth unemployment rate to adult unemployment rate; the share of youth unemployed to total unemployed and the share of youth unemployed to youth population.
Providing technical support to member States in the design and implementation of policies and programmes to address the youth employment challenge.
Advocating at the national, regional and international level for equality of employment opportunities for all young people and protection for them against discrimination in the labour market.
