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Figure of the Month

Youth Joblessness Indicators During the Crisis, OECD Area

As a percentage of the labour force aged 15/16-24

Figure of the Month: Youth Joblessness Indicators During the Crisis, OECD Area
Note: Countries are shown in ascending order of the youth unemployment rate in 2011 Q3. Figures are seasonally adjusted. International averages refer to weighted averages.
* Data refer to 2007 Q2-2011 Q2 for Iceland.
Source: OECD calculations based on Eurostat, Short-Term Indicators and various national sources.

 

This figure from Stefano Scarpetta and Anne Sonnet's Forum contribution "Investing in Skills to Foster Youth Employability - What Are the Key Policy Challenges?" shows the significant rise of youth unemployment rates in OECD countries since the financial crisis. Nearly every country suffered from increased youth unemployment, and it's interesting to note that the countries at the centre of the sovereign debt crisis in Europe (i.e. Spain, Greece, Portugal, Ireland and Italy) have seen the most dramatic increases. Scarpetta and Sonnet offer methods to combat this phenomenon in their article.