When the Global Crisis and Youth Bulge Collide

This working paper: i describes recent labour market trends; ii analyses how young people are experiencing a double employment crisis as a result of the demographic phenomenon known as the ‘youth bulge,’ which aggravates the already low demand for labour during the economic downturn; iii explores the household level impacts of the jobs crisis, with particular attention to the severe risks posed to children and young workers; iv discusses policy responses during the two phases of the crisis—fiscal expansion (2008-09) and fiscal contraction 2010-; and v presents a UN agenda on how to generate decent employment, which covers macroeconomic and sector policy options along with labour-specific strategies to place jobs, especially for youth, at the centre of recovery efforts.