While it is true that young people have always faced the formidable challenge of discovering their capabilities and skills, they must now also try and guess as to which skills will still be in demand in the future. In comparison with adults, youth have had lower labour force participation rates and higher unemployment rates and as anticipated, during the last recession we saw the gap in unemployment rates grow between these two groups. However, what is troubling is the fact that the gap has failed to close in the post-recession period. Upon closer examination, there are two relatively new features of youth labour markets that are emerging the increased volatility of employment and increased underemployment. General Lessons Learned 1.
Educational attainment is correlated with labour market success.
The reason for this is that the skills learned in school are vocationally relevant and because the possession of higher degrees is seen by employers as implying the possession of other qualities intelligence, motivation, persistence, and the capacity for hard work that are also useful in the labour market. Even when programs produce positive results, their impacts are generally modest in size. This does not mean that programs are not worthwhile. Programs may still be cost-effective and may play a crucial role in turning around the lives of particular young people. The needs of young people are many and varied.