Youth in Europe: Effects of COVID-19 on their economic and social situation

Abstract

"Young people are particularly affected by the COVID-19 crisis in terms of employment, education, training and mental well-being. They are generally more vulnerable to the COVID-19 crisis, as they tend to work more in sectors most affected by the pandemic such as retail, hospitality and tourism, and they are more often employed on temporary contracts, which have been worst hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, young people were heavily affected by school closures and restrictions on training opportunities and they have also been experiencing the lowest levels of mental well-being since the outbreak of the pandemic, in particular in the social dimension loneliness, depression and social isolation. The study analyses the effects of COVID-19 on youth unemployment, inactivity, social exclusion, work-based learning and mental health. The analysis is based on quantitative indicators and qualitative information from policy documents. It discusses the probability of longer-term "scarring effects" comparing the impact of the current crisis to impacts observed during and in the aftermath of the global financial crisis in 2008/2009. Youth is one of the groups more affected by the wide reaching labour market and social impacts of the COVID-19 crisis than other age groups, due to a pandemic-specific combination of labour market challenges. Young people were particularly hit by the reduction in working hours and the increase in inactivity. A specific feature of the current crisis across all age groups is that unemployment numbers reflect only a small proportion of the jobs lost. Employment losses in 2020 translated mainly into rising inactivity rather than unemployment." (Text excerpt, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Cite article

Konle-Seidl, R. & Picarella, F. (2021): Youth in Europe: Effects of COVID-19 on their economic and social situation. Brüssel, 60 p. DOI:10.2861/5094