Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of tables and figures
- Notes on contributors
- one Introduction
- two Method and research design
- three Unemployment, integration and marginalisation: a comparative 29 perspective on 18- to-24-year olds in Finland, Sweden, Scotland and Spain
- four Processes of marginalisation at work: integration of young people 45 in the labour market through temporary employment
- five Recurrence of youth unemployment: a longitudinal comparative approach
- six Scheme participation and employment outcome of young unemployed people: empirical findings from nine European countries
- seven Youth participation in the labour market in Germany, Spain and Sweden
- eight Surviving unemployment: a question of money or families?
- nine Buffers and predictors of mental health problems among unemployed young women in countries with different breadwinner models
- ten Economic hardship, employment status and psychological wellbeing of young people in Europe
- eleven Welfare regimes and political activity among unemployed young people
- twelve Concluding remarks
- Appendix: Samples and attrition
- Index
seven - Youth participation in the labour market in Germany, Spain and Sweden
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 January 2022
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of tables and figures
- Notes on contributors
- one Introduction
- two Method and research design
- three Unemployment, integration and marginalisation: a comparative 29 perspective on 18- to-24-year olds in Finland, Sweden, Scotland and Spain
- four Processes of marginalisation at work: integration of young people 45 in the labour market through temporary employment
- five Recurrence of youth unemployment: a longitudinal comparative approach
- six Scheme participation and employment outcome of young unemployed people: empirical findings from nine European countries
- seven Youth participation in the labour market in Germany, Spain and Sweden
- eight Surviving unemployment: a question of money or families?
- nine Buffers and predictors of mental health problems among unemployed young women in countries with different breadwinner models
- ten Economic hardship, employment status and psychological wellbeing of young people in Europe
- eleven Welfare regimes and political activity among unemployed young people
- twelve Concluding remarks
- Appendix: Samples and attrition
- Index
Summary
Introduction
The European Social Agenda defined in the Council of Nice declared: “social cohesion, the rejection of any form of exclusion or discrimination and gender equality are all essential values of the European social model”. Moreover, “employment is the best protection against social exclusion”, but “quality” in work, both in job characteristics and in the work and wider labour market context, is essential to strengthen the social model. Within the European Employment Strategy (EES), young unemployed people are one of the main target groups of employment policy, and education and training are the main instruments used to raise young people's employability.
Across Europe, various proactive schemes have been implemented in the past two decades. According to international conventions, they include job-broking activities with the aim of improving matching between vacancies and unemployed people, labour market training and job creation (subsided employment). However, training schemes, such as work and training contracts, apprenticeships and scholarships, are the most suitable measures for young people, as they activate the accumulation of human capital necessary to find gainful employment. This chapter studies how educational attainment and past participation in training affect labour market participation of young long-term unemployed people (aged 18-24) within the EU. Participation in the labour market for young people includes not only unemployment and employment but also investment in human capital through education and training.
The nature of youth unemployment
The youth activity rate is generally lower than that of adults in almost every country. Low labour force participation crucially depends on educational, vocational and training systems on the one hand, and on labour market structure and institutions on the other. Cross-country differences in the degree of efficiency of the educational systems explain a large part of the differences in the participation rate of young people. In almost every country, teenagers (aged 15-19) tend to have lower participation rates due to school attendance, whereas for young adults (aged 20-24), participation is generally dependent on the effectiveness of training systems in favouring a smooth transition from school to work. Germany is the exception, where young adults have slightly higher unemployment rates than teenagers.
An efficient education system also reduces the share of young adults flowing into the unofficial economy and/or into social exclusion or marginalisation (see Chapter Eight of this book).
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- Youth Unemployment and Social Exclusion in EuropeA Comparative Study, pp. 109 - 134Publisher: Bristol University PressPrint publication year: 2003
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