Latin America’s 108 million young people face chronic problems when seeking a job at the start of their working lives. A new ILO study calls calls for the implementation of innovative and effective policies to counter this situation which causes discouragement and frustration.

Latin America’s jobs-creating economic growth has not been stavaong enough in recent years to improve the employment outlook for young people trapped by unemployment and informality， the ILO said.

“We are faced with a political challenge that calls for a determination to apply innovative and effective policies to confront labour market precariousness，” said Elizabeth Tinoco， ILO’s Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean， presenting a new report entitled Trabajo decente y juventud: políticas para la acción (Decent Work and Youth: Policies for Action).

\"It is not surprising that young people take to the streets， as their lives are marked by discouragement and frustration because of lack of opportunities. This has consequences on social stability and even on democratic governance，\" Tinoco added.

The report， which compares data from 2005 to 2011， shows that at the end of this period， youth unemployment reached almost 14 per cent. Although the rate dropped 16.4 percentage points compared to 2005， workers aged 15 to 24 years are facing greater difficulty in finding a job， even more so in the case of quality jobs.

The youth unemployment rate remains twice as high as the overall rate and three times that of adults. In addition， young people represent 43 per cent of all the unemployed in the region. In the lower income group， the youth unemployment rate reached more than 25 per cent， while it is below 10 per cent in higher income sectors.

The report also shows that almost 6 in 10 young people who work are in informal employment， which generally involves low wages， job insecurity and lack of protection and rights.

Only 37 percent of young people contribute to social health insurance， and 29.4 percent to the pension system. Only 28.2 percent of youth in employment have a written contract， as compared with 61 percent for adults.

Of particular concern is the high number， about 21 million， of young people known as NEETs - not in employment， education or training.

About a quarter of these young people are seeking work but can’t find any. Twelve million of them， mostly women， do household chores and the remaining 4.6 million are neither working in the household nor looking for a job.

Meanwhile， the number of Young people who study full-time increased to 34.5 percent in 2011 from 32.9 percent in 2011.

“There is no doubt we have the best educated generation in history. For that reason we have to take appropriate measures to take better use their potential and give them the opportunity to start their working life on the right footing，” said Tinoco.

國際勞工組織最近的報告指出，截至2011年，青年失業(yè)率達到14%，盡管與2005年相比下降了16.4%，但15至24歲的青年人在就業(yè)，特別是較優(yōu)質的就業(yè)機會方面，仍面臨著更嚴重的問題。拉丁美洲近年的就業(yè)機會不足以為青年人提供良好的就業(yè)前景，青年被失業(yè)和非正式就業(yè)問題所困擾。勞工組織拉丁美洲和加勒比地區(qū)負責人Elizabeth Tinoco指出:“我們需要采取創(chuàng)新有效的政策來對抗勞工市場的不穩(wěn)定。在拉丁美洲，年輕人在街上閑逛是很正常的事，因為他們缺少就業(yè)機會，生活中充滿失望和挫折，這會直接影響社會穩(wěn)定甚至是民主制度?！?/p>

[http://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/newsroom/news/WCMS_235661/lang--en/index.htm]