The pandemic, youth and Europe : will the EU take the strain of youth unemployment from us?

Abstract

Youth unemployment is on the rise again. The COVID-19 pandemic is not only an unprecedented health crisis but is also tangible through an immense economic downturn with an increase of the EU-wide youth unemployment rate from 15,7 to 17,6% as one of its features. The pandemic destroys job opportunities for newcomers in the labour market and has, therefore, inversed the downward trend of youth unemployment of the last years. Moreover, a well-known feature of previous economic crises also characterizes the pandemic: young workers on the EU-level have lost their jobs more frequently in a permanent manner than other age groups. Therefore, youth unemployment is back on the European agenda but are we heading once again towards a lost generation?