Pushing Back Against Economic Crisis, Youth Unrest Ripples Around World

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from In These Times:




Pushing Back Against Economic Crisis, Youth Unrest Ripples Around World

Friday
Jan 28, 2011
10:59 am

By Michelle Chen


Has anyone noticed that new unemployment claims just climbed by 51,000 to 454,000? Maybe we're tired of being reminded about the jobless rate. It was politely ignored in President Obama's State of the Union Address, even as he promised to boost opportunities for the next generation.

Yet the next generation is at the center of unemployment epidemic. And according to the International Labour Organisation's Global Employment Trends report, they have lots of company around the world:

The number of unemployed stood at 205 million in 2010, essentially unchanged from the year earlier... with little hope for this figure to revert to pre-crisis levels in the near term.

The ranks of the jobless include some 78 million young people worldwide, a rate of 12.6 percent. That's a slight decline from the previous year but millions more than the 2007 levels. And since the data suggests “discouragement among youth has risen sharply," there is also the untold shadow number of youth who've simply fallen out of the workforce.

In some respects, the unemployment crisis has ironically done more relative damage to wealthier countries than to poorer ones; workers in upper-tier economies fell down harder. But whether unemployment reflects an abrupt decline from privilege, or a steady socioeconomic malaise, the millions of youth who can't find work are all hurting together. And the pain is now starting to crest in a ripple of anger. ..........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.inthesetimes.com/working/entry/6901/pushing_back_against_economic_crisis_youth_unrest_ripples_around_the_w/