The global economic crisis hit many countries just as they were experiencing a youth bulge. This working paper describes recent labour market trends; analyses how young people are experiencing a double employment crisis as a result of the demographic phenomenon known as the ‘youth bulge,’; explores the household level impacts of the jobs crisis, with particular attention to the severe risks posed to children and young workers; discusses policy responses during the two phases of the crisis-fiscal expansion (2008-09) and fiscal contraction (2010- ); and presents a UN agenda on how to generate decent employment, which covers macroeconomic and sector policy options along with labour-specific strategies to place jobs, especially for youth, at the center of recovery efforts.

April 09, 2012.