Youth unemployment in Spain is the unemployment of youth (generally ages 14–24) and is different from the general unemployment of Spain.

Unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work during the refere ...

describes those who actively search for work but that are without jobs. In Spain, youth unemployment has increasingly become alarming, especially in recent decades, given that the rate of youth unemployment has risen to such high levels. Youth unemployment in Spain rose very much during and following the

financial crisis of 2007–2008 Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fi ...

, and among OCDE nations; Spain experienced the largest increase of job losses among young people. The increase in segmentation of the labor market, the lack of effective employment policies and deficiencies in the education system have been cited as some of the principal reasons behind the significant level of youth unemployment in Spain.

Current statistics

In 2014, 57.9% of young people in Spain were unemployed. From 2008-14, workers younger than 35 years of age had an average loss of

purchasing power Purchasing power is the amount of goods and services that can be purchased with a unit of currency. For example, if one had taken one unit of currency to a store in the 1950s, it would have been possible to buy a greater number of items than would ...

of 25.7%; more than a quarter of their income. In 2012, Spain had the highest rate of long-term youth unemployment (more than 40%) of the countries in the

Eurozone The euro area, commonly called eurozone (EZ), is a currency union of 19 member states of the European Union (EU) that have adopted the euro ( €) as their primary currency and sole legal tender, and have thus fully implemented EMU polici ...

. At the end of 2016, the rate of unemployment among young people was 42.91%, 3.3% lower than the previous year (46.2%). Though this may appear to be a sign of improvement, it is still concerning that of the 4,230,000 unemployed counted at the end of 2016, 14.5% were younger than 25 years of age, of which almost 46% were long-term unemployed (more than one year without employment). Even though the rate of long-term youth unemployment has lowered recently, the fact that it remains high is cause for concern, since the greater quantity of unemployed youth, the greater the potential effects not only on themselves but on the

Spanish economy The economy of Spain is a highly developed social market economy. It is the world's sixteenth-largest by nominal GDP and the sixth-largest in Europe. Spain is a member of the European Union and the eurozone, as well as the Organization for Eco ...

as a whole.

Causes

Among the general reasons of why young people experience higher unemployment rates than seniors, is the fact that they generally have less work experience, less knowledge about how to find a job and fewer contacts to get jobs. In addition, some young people do not have the exact skills that some jobs require of them, resulting in a difficult transition from school to the

workforce The workforce or labour force is a concept referring to the pool of human beings either in employment or in unemployment. It is generally used to describe those working for a single company or industry, but can also apply to a geographic reg ...

. However, there are some labor practices, especially in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

, which specifically contribute to the problem of youth unemployment in the long term. Young people are more likely to work under temporary contracts than older people. The benefit for companies to use such contracts is that they do not have to follow regulations that make it hard to dismiss full-time workers. About one-third of young people employed in advanced economies had temporary employment contracts before the 2008 financial crisis. Half of the youth employed in Spain were using temporary contracts before the crisis and were among the first workers to lose their jobs. This had the additional effect of not only leaving young people out of work; but also leaving them without some of the social benefits their jobs provided. Other causes of the high rate of youth unemployment include leaving school early and the mismatch of supply and demand between work and education level. Spain suffers from a high rate of school drop outs, which is the percentage of the population between 18-24 years old who has not completed

secondary education Secondary education or post-primary education covers two phases on the International Standard Classification of Education scale. Level 2 or lower secondary education (less commonly junior secondary education) is considered the second and final pha ...

and who has not taken part in any technical training. From 2005-10, Spain recorded a dropout rate of 30.6%; Only

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

(38.0%) and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

(34.3%) had higher rates within

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

. In Spain, there is greater concern not just for the number of dropouts, but for the fact that the rate persists and has shown little to do with the economy over the past fifteen years.

Consequences and effects

Youth unemployment affects not only young people, but also the economy on a broader scale, specifically

income inequality There are wide varieties of economic inequality, most notably income inequality measured using the distribution of income (the amount of money people are paid) and wealth inequality measured using the distribution of wealth (the amount of we ...

. As the rate of youth unemployment increased, the gap between the rich and poor in Spain widened. It is estimated that Spain has experienced the widest expansion of

income distribution In economics, income distribution covers how a country's total GDP is distributed amongst its population. Economic theory and economic policy have long seen income and its distribution as a central concern. Unequal distribution of income causes ec ...

in Europe, as it experienced an increase in income inequality of 18%. Not finding work has been linked to cause other problems, such as

social problems A social issue is a problem that affects many people within a society. It is a group of common problems in present-day society and ones that many people strive to solve. It is often the consequence of factors extending beyond an individual's cont ...

typically linked to youth. The lack of work can lead to a vicious circle of poverty and social problems among young people. On top of that, unemployment can force young people to move away or to start engaging in violence and juvenile delinquency, as well as having low self-esteem and discouragement that can lead to

addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to engage in certain behaviors, one of which is the usage of a drug, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use o ...

and other health problems in the future. If young people are out of work for too long, they may begin to lose their skills or stop looking for a job altogether - which means that the unemployment rate may not really be indicative of the unemployment picture in Spain.

Recommendations

The measures approved by the

Council of Ministers A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/ shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...

in 2011 to lower the age of participation in the Initial Professional Qualification Programs (PCPI) to 15 years old, the greater accessibility of facilities and the extension of the programs for up to two years should encourage certain students to remain in the education system longer.

References

{{Europe topic, Youth unemployment in Economy of Spain Labor in Spain Youth unemployment