Generation Screwed: The Political Implications of a Lost Generation

With the revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia reverberating in the public consciousness in North America the underlying causes are being examined. One issue that demands further examination is the issue of youth unemployment and the corresponding silence from politicians around the world about this long-simmering issue. In Canada youth unemployment is running close to fourteen percent and in other countries it's running far higher. From the talking points of politicians as of late you wouldn't know that a problem exists. Their silence is deafening and points to a disturbing trend of politicians not wanting to occupy themselves with the day to day issues young citizens are facing.

Within government in Canada the capacity to address the scope of youth unemployment has been gutted by successive cuts. There has been a retreat at both the provincial and federal level from addressing issues related to the labour market. In the absence of government action: regulatory efforts monitoring workplaces have stagnated, entry level jobs are replaced with internships, post-secondary education has become the final answer to all youth related public policy issues, and youth are falling further into debt which means not being able to set aside money for future. 

Clearly, there is no magic bullet to youth unemployment and that's why there needs to be a public discussion about what options are available to get more young people properly transitioned into the workforce and begin addressing the shortage of good jobs for our graduates. Adhering to the status quo simply is not an option, as this is a systemic issue that won't be going away anytime soon. For further information on youth unemployment. Take a look at ILO's Jose Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs' comments about youth unemployment on CNBC and the ILO report entitled: "Global Employment Trends For Youth".