Youth employment and education trends in the 1980s and 1990s

A clear understanding of the youth labour market situation is essential as a basis for appropriate policy initiatives related to youth employment. This paper provides an overview of youth labour market and human capital trends in the 1980s and 1990s. The paper is predominantly based on Statistics Canada labour market statistics for the 15-24 year old age group, however, as the transition from school to work is often prolonged, young people aged 24-29 years have been included in some parts of the analysis. The first section briefly reviews demographic trends specific to youth population levels and shares. The following section provides a detailed discussion of the main labour market indicators: labour force participation, employment and underemployment. The report then focuses on the effects of educational attainment on labour market outcomes, the industrial and occupational employment patterns of youth over the period of 1981-1994, trends in education enrolment and youth training participation, and youth earnings. The data suggests that the labour market experiences of young people have been on a downward trend and that education is the best solution for young people. In the 1990s, post-secondary enrolment increased dramatically and the proportion of young people with no schooling beyond the secondary level decreased markedly. The data suggests that those young people who do not undertake post-secondary education will experience difficulty in the labour market and the evidence suggests that this disadvantage is growing.

A clear understanding of the youth labour market situation is essential as a basis for appropriate policy initiatives related to youth employment. This paper provides an overview of youth labour market and human capital trends in the 1980s and 1990s. The paper is predominantly based on Statistics Canada labour market statistics for the 15-24 year old age group, however, as the transition from school to work is often prolonged, young people aged 24-29 years have been included in some parts of the analysis. The first section briefly reviews demographic trends specific to youth population ...  [+] Show more