Dramatic level of youngsters without a job in the Balearics

Youth employment numbers have gone down around 40% since the beginning of the recession, meaning only 27% of young adults in the islands have a job compared to the 42.2% back in 2008.

Silvia Montejano, from theYouth Education and Employment department says these numbers are not a surprise given the poor policies put in place by the current government. “Even though the Summer season provides a welcome respite in the Balearics, youngsters are still not making the most of it and are still either out of work or unable to kick start their personal careers. “The measures taken by the authorities concerning work policies have been useless so far and the only way this could change is if new policies are installed. “New laws must improve not only the global economy but also improve the quality of education and quality of jobs available in the market in order to make the transition from unemployment to employment easier,” Montejano explained.

The Unions agreed saying that those with the under 25-years-old the group that most at risk when it comes to finding a job due to the lack or deterioration of work experience.

From April to June the number of youngsters that have declared themselves economically active decreased by 7.200, some 6.6% less than during the same period last year and 10% percent less compared to 2008.

According to the union, overall levels of unemployment in that age bracket have gone down 25%, but this is nothing but a “passive decrease”, since it's not because there are more jobs available but because less youngsters have been declared as entering “working age”.

They classify the situation as “dramatic” since unemployment numbers in that age bracket are almost double any other age group.
The number of young professionals in long term unemployment is now 38.3%.