Assignment about Youth Development

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Youth Unemployment
Youth unemployment is a situation where young people age 16-24 are actively looking
for a job but cannot find it. According to united nations statistics, 1.2 billion youths in the world
are unemployed constituting 17% world population and 87% of these youths live in developing
countries (Moffitt 79). These youths have skills and are willing to work but cannot lay a hand on
job opportunities in the society. In United States of America, 13% of youths were unemployed
by 2007, 18% by 2008 and as July 2017 the unemployment rate had increased to 19.2% among
youths. These are youths who are neither in school nor at work. This menace has created ‘a lost
generation’, political unrest, increased public spending, lack of innovation, incarceration and
mortality rate has gone higher. The question is, how can we solve unemployment among youths
in our society? Despite high percentage of unemployment, there are considerable number of
youths who graduate yearly hoping to join job market, what is there fate?
Therefore, if measures are not put in place earlier enough to mitigate this menace, the
problem will escalate and blow off in our faces. Youth unemployment indeed has grave impacts
on socio-economic development of our country, United States of America (Verbruggen 729-

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749). It has created a lost generation, a generation which is unproductive and impacting
negatively on young people and their families. Their earning rates are low, dependency rate high
creating financial crisis for their families as they live with their parents hence increase in poverty
levels. Unemployment pose a great threat on youths’ career development as unemployed are not
able to build on their skills and experience. It also leads in decrease in happiness, job satisfaction
and increase in mental health issues. Due to unproductiveness among unemployed youths, they
become idle, therefore creating political unrest and other social issues. When they feel provoked
by the government, they stage demonstrations characterized with violence. Some politicians also
use them to gain political milestone.
Economically, America losses resources as government tend to cushion unemployed
youths via benefit payments, lost income tax and wasted capacity. According to London School
of Economics, Britain government spends around 247 million pounds to cushion young
unemployed through benefits and lost productivity. By 2011, economic loss due to
unemployment in youths stood at 154 billion pounds in Europe (Yenilmez and K?l?ç 128-141).
Decrease in competitiveness for the affected countries, loss of talents and skills from
unemployed university graduates who cannot find jobs and put their knowledge into innovation.
Their divergent thinking, creativity and innovation is missed in the labor market. Unemployment
also leads to idleness among youths, they therefore tend to engage in unpleasant behaviors such
as drug abuse, their physical and mental health are always at risk leading to incarcerations and
even deaths. Youths tend to look for solutions of their unemployment problems by sometimes
emigrating to other countries to look for greener pasture. This has always lead to brain drain
depriving off their native countries skills and even tax revenues.