Youth and labour market(s) in Europe: ‘Opportunities' or just ‘risks'? – Findings from the European social survey

Many critics argue that one core dimension of the European Union (EU) ‘Lisbon Strategy’ (2000) is ‘more flexibility and openness to the labour market in teaching/learning’ and the ‘strengthening human resources at the universities by promoting a favourable professional environment’. Amidst the global financial crisis and the increasing ‘downsizing’ of the Welfare State, we would like to examine how young adults perceive their current situation and their future educational and occupational prospects within this framework of opportunities?

Using comparative data on educational level and type of education completed, occupational status and income level, on the one hand, and measurement(s) of subjective well-being and job security , experiences of unemployment and work-life balance, on the other, from Round 5 (2010-11) of the cross-sectional European Social Survey, we will try to highlight patterns on how European youth (generally defined as people between 18 and 34 years of age) perceive their life chances in times of supposedly big investment in ‘human-capital formation’. Variables such as gender, age, ethnic or religious group, type of area, household composition, parental education and occupation and family income are also taken account in order to control for significant ‘personal’ and ‘external’ influences.