Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions – Moving youth into employment

The crisis which Europe has been undergoing since 2008 is having an exceptionally severe and ever-increasing impact on young people: the youth unemployment rate stood at 22.7% in the third quarter of 2012, twice as high as the adult rate, and no signs of improvement are in sight. Beyond the immediate effects of the crisis, structural problems in the education system and in the labour market have been making the transition from school to work long and difficult.

Young people have been in a more difficult situation than adults for too long a time. Being unemployed at a young age can have a long-lasting negative impact, a 'scarring effect'. In addition to higher risks of future unemployment, these young people are also at a higher risk of exclusion, of poverty and of facing health problems. Effective remedies are urgently needed.

In 2011, the Commission adopted the Youth Opportunities Initiative (YOI), prompting EU and Member State action to improve youth employment. EU Structural Funds were mobilised to increase support for youth and financial resources for policy measures and investment projects are now being funded. Both the European Council and the European Parliament have since re-emphasised the crucial importance and urgency of addressing youth unemployment, highlighting the potential for initiatives on youth guarantees and on a quality framework for traineeships. The Commission also recently adopted the 'Rethinking Education' package.

This Communication and its accompanying Staff Working Document present the action taken at EU and at national level to implement the YOI (including through 28 country fact sheets). The Communication then outlines further concrete initiatives proposed by the Commission and to be taken forward by the Member States and social partners, in order to address the different short-term and structural problems behind the youth employment crisis.

• Primary Source

EUR-Lex: COM(2012)727: Follow the progress of this document through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2012:727:FIN

European Commission: SWD(2012)406: Annexes http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=SWD:2012:0406:FIN:EN:PDF

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