Recent statistics on youth employment present a gloomy state of affairs for today’s young people. In most developed economies, the long-term unemployment rates of youth significantly surpass those of adults. For example, in Italy, the gap between the youth and adult long-term unemployment rates is shocking: youth are three times more likely than adults to be unemployed for at least one year.

This paints a disturbing picture of social inequality, not only in terms of access to decent work and job-seeking services, but also retention. While this is a particularly acute problem in South Africa, young job seekers across the globe are still excluded from the labour force based on gender, ethnicity, ability/disability and geography. Some of the participants on the e-discussion platform mentioned briefly some of these issues. However, it remains a sensitive area.