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Youth Employment Has Not Fully Recovered From Financial Crash, Report Says
🇮🇪 Ireland /Economy & Trade

Youth Employment Has Not Fully Recovered From Financial Crash, Report Says

From RTÉ News · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Documents & data Context piece
  • The number of 15-to-24-year-olds in employment in Ireland fell from about 400,000 before the financial crisis to less than half that level between 2008 and 2012, then recovered only to 320,600 in the third quarter of 2021.
  • Youth unemployment stood at 12.3% in July, above the government’s benchmark relative to workers aged 25 and over, according to Central Statistics Office figures cited in the report.
  • The research says lower unemployment masks sub-minimum pay, insecure work, unaffordable housing and increased reliance on living with parents or emigrating.

Ireland’s youth unemployment rate has improved since the financial crash, but the country has not restored the number of young people in work, according to a report commissioned by the National Youth Council of Ireland and produced by TASC.

About 400,000 people aged 15 to 24 held jobs between 2000 and 2008. That figure fell by more than half during the crisis, between 2008 and 2012. Employment later recovered, reaching 320,600 in the third quarter of 2021, but the report says progress appears to have stalled.

The fall in youth unemployment since the financial crisis is real and important. But it does not tell us whether young people can find secure, fairly paid work or build an independent life.

— Kathryn WalshThe National Youth Council of Ireland policy director said unemployment figures do not capture job security or living conditions.

The latest Central Statistics Office figures cited in the research put monthly unemployment among 15-to-24-year-olds at 12.3% in July, up from a revised 11.8% in June. Youth unemployment also remains above the government’s benchmark of two and a half times the rate for workers aged 25 and older.

Despite near-full employment, many young people are facing sub-minimum wages, unaffordable housing, social exclusion and continued pressure to emigrate.

— Kathryn WalshWalsh described the broader pressures facing young people despite lower unemployment.

The report argues that unemployment figures do not capture the full difficulty facing young people. It identifies a sharp and lasting decline in labour-market participation among 15-to-24-year-olds, even as participation among older workers has continued to rise. It also points to more young workers receiving sub-minimum wages and more living with their parents.

NYCI policy director Kathryn Walsh said the decline in unemployment is real but does not show whether young people can secure fairly paid work or build independent lives. TASC economist Oisín Gilmore, who wrote the report, said a serious employment strategy must link decent work with adequate income and secure housing. Walsh also cited unaffordable housing, social exclusion and continued pressure to emigrate.

A serious youth employment strategy must consider whether young people can access decent work, adequate income and secure housing, and how employment might provide a route to an independent life for young people in Ireland.

— Oisín GilmoreThe TASC senior economist and report author outlined what he said an effective youth employment strategy should address.
About this summary

Originally published by RTÉ News in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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