Europe struggling to find young jobs

06/09/12 18:56 CET

Europe

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Can and should Europe be doing more to help its young find work? Only this week the International Labour Organisation said global youth unemployment is likely to rise because of the fallout from the euro crisis.

Back in Brussels, policy makers met on Thursday to try to improve the bloc’s own gloomy youth jobs picture. Many admit it won’t be easy.

“The problem at the moment is that we’re in recession. However we need to keep restructuring our finances, make structural reforms to the way public administration works and also change the way markets operate, especially labour markets,’‘ Italy’s Minister of Labour Elsa Fornero said.

It’s estimated about one in five of Europe’s young are without work. Some feel things could be improved through better education and training.

‘‘There are measures that we can take to improve the situation for young people. We should encourage them to stay in school longer because it’s an opportunity now to acquire more skills,’‘ said 2010 Nobel prize winner Christopher Pissarides.

But for many young people without a job, especially in places like Greece and Spain, the idea of more training and education might ring hollow with the youth jobless rate around 50 percent.