Studie der University of Cambridge, 21.10.2021 (engl. Originalfassung)
Even before the pandemic began, large sections of the youth population were socially and economically disadvantaged. They were more likely to be in the informal sector and earn less than older adult workers, or to be inactive. An important caveat is that those who were economically inactive but in education were not necessarily at a greater disadvantage, though education systems have also been heavily disrupted by COVID-19. Since COVID-19 reached pandemic proportions, young people have been less directly impacted by illness, death and long COVID than older cohorts. Still, many young people have suffered directly from COVID-19, and many more have family and friends – on whom they may depend for social and emotional support – who have suffered or died during the past year. Young people have been highly impacted by the national lockdowns, containment policies and travel restrictions to slow the spread of COVID-19 which alter many dimensions of daily life. This includes the delivery of young people’s education and training, and their transitions into the labour market. Since the pandemic began, more than one in six young people globally were made redundant and ceased working. Even before the crisis, more than 267 million young people found themselves in the category of NEET and 68 million were unemployed.
A variety of measures are needed to observe the full impacts of COVID-19 on young people’s lives and livelihoods. Unemployment statistics alone – which describe being without work, but actively seeking and ready to start work – do not capture the full impact and diverse pandemic experiences of young people. This is especially true given the significant increases in labour market inactivity associated with COVID-19 (figure 1). Whereas in HICs, unemployed status can bring access to state welfare, in states which offer minimal social protection not working is less of an option, thus informal, poverty-income activities are taken on more readily. These regional differences are reflected by the large range in informal employment rate for young people by region, from 33 per cent in Europe and Central Asia, to 93 per cent in Africa. Other relevant statistical measures of young people’s situations include: underemployment (inability to find enough work), in-work poverty (working but not earning enough money to pay rent and bills), inability to work (due to restrictions), leaving education, work or training to become NEET, work becoming more demanding (whether due to additional demands in an existing job or taking on new roles, such as carer or home educator), doing other activities while waiting for work (volunteering, waiting and extending education), and wider impacts on mental health and well-being. Complementing statistical analyses, qualitative approaches offer insights into the experiences, causal pathways, and personal meaning associated with labour market trends.
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