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[av_heading heading=’Youth unemployment, a scourge of neoliberalism’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
BY BENJIE OLIVEROS
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Tuesday, February 7, 2017
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(Continued from Feb. 6)
GENERALLY, the worse impact the economic crisis, which was brought about by neoliberalism, had on a country, the worse is its problem of youth unemployment. Refer to the data on youth unemployment among OECD countries, which are said to be the most developed countries in the world. Among these countries, South Africa, Greece, Spain, Portugal and Italy have the worst problems. These countries were hit most by the recent economic crisis.
In the US, for example, youth unemployment reached an all-time high of 19.5 percent, when the country was suffering the worst impact of the crisis, which imploded in 2008-2009. On the other hand, youth unemployment reached a record low of 7.8 percent in September 1956, when the US was at the peak of prosperity, especially since it emerged intact from World War II and, as such, led and profited from the post-war reconstruction period under the Marshall Plan.
“By 1956 a majority held white-collar jobs, working as corporate managers, teachers, salespersons and office employees. Some firms granted a guaranteed annual wage, long-term employment contracts and other benefits.” (The Postwar Economy: 1945-1960)
In the Philippines, despite the claims of economic growth by the Aquino government, youth unemployment, at 14.6 percent, is higher than the average in Southeast Asia, 13.5 percent. If the data on NEET (Not in Employment, Education or Training) among the youth is considered, the Philippines is also worse off with 23.8 percent when the rate in OECD countries is at 15 percent in 2012. With the reported increase in dropouts, due to the implementation of the senior high school requirement, the country’s NEET would expectedly increase.
Among the drivers of high youth unemployment identified by the report Youth Unemployment: A Global Challenge, are “structural economic problems,” which include “missed opportunities for industrialization and hence a shortage of jobs for skilled workers.”
Of course, the same report echoed the analysis and recommendations of mainstream neoliberal economists that inflexible labor market regulations that benefit older (especially public-sector) workers, and training and tertiary education that bypass labor market needs as other factors. It’s as if current “flexible” labor market regulations, which resulted in massive contractualization of labor, are not bad enough. And that the current education systems of underdeveloped countries have not been patterned enough to the needs of multinational corporations and the need for cheap labor of developed economies.
Nevertheless, it recognized the direct correlation between industrialization and job generation. Progressive groups have pointed this out repeatedly.
For as long as neoliberal policies are in place – which makes the country dependent on foreign investments and imports to provide for the country’s basic needs for products, goods, and services, which, in turn, undermine the development of the country’s industry and agriculture – and the country patterns its education system to cater to the needs for cheap labor of multinational corporations, here and abroad, youth unemployment would continue as a scourge to the nation.
The way to solve youth unemployment is to develop the country’s basic industries and agriculture, to provide free education for the youth up to the tertiary level, and to pattern the economy and the education system of the country to provide for the needs of the nation primarily. (Bulatlat.com)
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