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Young People and Work in the 21st Century
Abstract Submissions Closed
RC34 Sociology of Youth (host committee)
Language: Spanish and English
Session Type: Oral
Young people and work in the 21st century
Across the world youth unemployment rates average at around 14%. Unemployment rates are higher in Latin American and North African countries than elsewhere, and lowest in Asian countries (Elder & Rojas, 2015). However, while East and South Asia and even sub-Saharan Africa (excluding Southern Africa) experience low unemployment rates, many of the employed young people in these regions work out of necessity to help support their families and not because they have realized their employment related aspirations. In parts of Africa there are some “extraordinarily high rates of youth unemployment [age 15-24]” (United Nations, 2018, p. 39). These include 57% for South Africa, 39% for Lesotho, 43% for Mozambique and 46% for Namibia. Furthermore, young people who are employed are employed mainly in the informal economy, without social protections such as unemployment insurance, safety regulations or decent wages. This session begins the series of sessions focused on young people, their transitions into work and livelihoods, and the struggles, precarity and multiple pathways of their journeys.