The "locked-down generation": the economic effects of the pandemic on young people

For the International Labor Organization, young people are the ones who suffer the most from the economic difficulties caused by the coronavirus pandemic. For this reason, some experts already use the term “confined generation” to talk about the situation these young people live.

One in six young people has lost their income since the start of the pandemic. In addition, for those who had a job, the working day was reduced and, as a consequence, there was a drop in wages. This is a generation that will be marked by the difficulties that the virus imposes on society as a whole. The economic crisis resulting from the pandemic exacerbates the vulnerability that young people already faced when entering the labor market.

As a consequence, as a large part of the educational spaces had to paralyze their activities due to the pandemic, this can cause some young people to have delays in their studies, since they will not be able to attend the academic area. In this sense, the world labor organization shows that the health crisis caused by the coronavirus has a very big impact on young people, since it destroys jobs and education, in addition to nullifying the possibility of young people entering the labor market.

The current situation of the confined generation

Before the financial crisis caused by the coronavirus, the youth unemployment rate was 13%. In Latin America, the index is 17%, which shows how vulnerable this social group is. So a significant part of young people is suspicious and afraid of the future. This causes many of them to develop illnesses such as anxiety and depression.

In addition, many of the young people had low-paid formal jobs or were inserted in the informal labor market. Thus, 75% of economically active young people work in an area of the informal economy. So this working model does not give access to any social protection benefits that countries are offering during the period of financial adversity.

Given this scenario, the world labor organization suggests that countries apply public policies that have been implemented after times of economic difficulties. The institution says that due to the current circumstances, the State needs to act urgently with a focus on young people who are the most vulnerable in the midst of the crisis.

Thus, according to the World Labor Organization, it is up to countries to take measures to protect the economy and allow young people to have a place in the labor market.