Unemployment is defined as a situation where someone of working age is not able to get a job but would like to be in full

time employment. Unemployment occurs when a person who is actively searching for employment is unable to find work. Unemployment is often used as a measure of the health of the economy. The most frequently cited measure of unemployment is the unemployment rate. This is the number of unemployed persons divided by the number of people in the labor force. The Challenge of Youth Unemployment *Youth make up 17% of the world's population.(from a total of 7.1 billion GLOBAL POPULATION) *There are 1.2 billion youth in the world aged between 15 and 24. 87% of youth live in developing countries. *Youth make up 40% of the world's unemployed Global Adult Unemployment Rate -4.5% Global Youth Unemployment Rate -12.6% 202 million PEOPLE UNEMPLOYED In 2011, a youth's risk of being unemployed was 3x higher than that of an adult. Close to 75 million youth worldwide were unemployed in 2012. Close to 75 million youth worldwide were unemployed in 2012. Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has the highest youth unemployment rate, with about one youth in four without a job. A total of 357.7 million youth were not in education, employment, or training (NEET) in 2010, and the number is increasing.From Which 16.7 MILLION in Developed Countries and 341 MILLION in Developing Countries

Causes of Youth Unemployment

1.Quality and Relevance of Education Education is often not adequately tailored to the needs of the labour market, which means that firms are unable to hire the skills they need. Combined with the inability of many economies to create sufficient jobs, it has resulted in increasing the educated unemployed. (Education is the key to a decent job.In 2010, in 25 out of 27 developed countries, the highest unemployment rate was among people with primary education or less. ...yet high education does not guarantee a decent job.In Tunisia, 40% of university graduates areunemployed against 24% of nongraduates.) 2. Population Growth High population growth rates, especially in the Middle East, North Africa and sub-saharan Africa, have increased the number of youth entering the labour market. 3. Economic Crisis There was a rise of unemployment rate from 11.8% to 12.7% between 2008 and 2009. 4. Discouraged Youth More than 6 million youths have given up looking for a job.16 Prolonged unemployment entails higher risk of future unemployment,as prospective employers have negative perception of youth who have been without employment for a long period of time. Discouraged youth gave up looking for work altogether and are in danger of feeling useless and alienated from society. 5. Lack of National Comprehensive Policy Framework The priority given to youth unemployment is on the rise in 138countries. However, only 35 countries have adopted action plans and only 4 countries have identified a budget in their national employment policies for the implementation of youth employment priorities.

6 Deficiencies of Labour Market Institution and Policies In general, a high level of employment protection regulation can have an adverse effect on youth workers as firms would rather hire more experienced workers if they are less able to fire them during a downturn. Strong increases in minimum wages have been argued by some as having a negative impact on employment of youth.

Solutions to Youth Unemployment

The Global Agenda Council on Youth Unemployment is advancing solutions to improve youth employment and entrepreneurship in three dimensions: Innovations to scale, Implementation at the national level and Inspiration through a global campaign. 1. Scaleable innovations to secure first employment Committed to developing and testing scaleable innovations that allow youth to get their first jobs or become successful young entrepreneurs, the Ten Youth Mentoring and Apprenticeship Programme encourages companies to invest in "M&A" (Mentoring and Apprenticeship) support for firsttime hires, and provides concrete tools for this. Building on its first pilots in the United States and Nigeria, Youth Trade connects young entrepreneurs with markets for their products, thereby addressing a key obstacle for young entrepreneurs lack of access to markets. 2. National youth employment strategies More countries around the world need to implement national youth employment strategies that demonstrate a shared vision, clear objectives and metrics for success, supported by resources that will significantly and tangibly increase youth employment. The Global Agenda Council on Youth Unemployment is committed to developing such a strategy in Cambodia and countries in Africa over the coming year. 3. Global campaign an EYE opener Youth unemployment affects developed and developing countries alike. As awareness of and information on the global impact of youth unemployment are rising, it is more urgent than ever for global decision-makers to take inspired, comprehensive, coordinated action to make youth employment a national priority. The Global Agenda Council on Youth Unemployment is launching the Eye on Youth Employment campaign. EYE will bring policy recommendations and proven solutions to the attention of business, government and civil society leaders, urging concerted action to help move millions of skilled youth into jobs and create new employment through business creation and opportunities for self-employment.

http://www.weforum.org/community/global-agenda-councils/youth-unemployment-visualization-2013