This article reviews the effects of the Great Recession on youth labor markets. The authors argue that young people aged 16-24 continue to suffer suffered disproportionately. Using the USA and UK as case studies, they analyze youth unemployment using micro-data. The authors argue that there is convincing evidence that the young are particularly susceptible to the negative effects of spells of unemployment well after their initial experience of worklessness. Because the current youth cohort is relatively large, the longer-term outlook for youth unemployment is quite good, but there is a strong case for policy intervention now to address the difficulties that the current cohort is having in accessing employment.