OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers

ISSN :
1815-199X (online)
DOI :
10.1787/1815199x
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This series is designed to make available to a wider readership selected labour market, social policy and migration studies prepared for use within the OECD. Authorship is usually collective, but principal writers are named. The papers are generally available only in their original language - English or French - with a summary in the other.
 

Starting Well or Losing their Way?

The Position of Youth in the Labour Market in OECD Countries You or your institution have access to this content

Authors:
Glenda Quintini, Sébastien Martin
Publication Date
01 Dec 2006
Bibliographic information
No.:
39
Pages
72
DOI
10.1787/351848125721

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Despite the fact that today’s young cohorts are smaller in number and better educated than their older counterparts, high youth unemployment remains a serious problem in many OECD countries. This reflects a variety of factors, including the relatively high proportion of young people leaving school without a basic educational qualification, the fact that skills acquired in initial education are not always well adapted to labour market requirements, as well as general labour market conditions and problems in the functioning of labour markets. The paper highlights the trends in youth labour market performance over the past decade using a wide range of indicators. It also presents new evidence on i) the length of transitions from school to work; ii) the wages, working conditions and stability of jobs performed by youth; and iii) the degree of so-called "over-education", i.e. the gap between the skills of young people and the jobs they get.
JEL Classification:
  • J21: Labor and Demographic Economics / Demand and Supply of Labor / Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
  • J22: Labor and Demographic Economics / Demand and Supply of Labor / Time Allocation and Labor Supply
  • J31: Labor and Demographic Economics / Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs / Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
  • J68: Labor and Demographic Economics / Mobility, Unemployment, and Vacancies / Public Policy