Stressed economies, distressed policies and distraught young people: European policies and outcomes from a youth perspective

This chapter adopts a critical perspective on policymaking in European labor markets before, during, and after the Great Recession. Using extensive analysis of recent policies at the flexibility–security interface, we identify four key weaknesses in relation to young people: first, an over-reliance on supply-side policies and quantitative targets; second, reforms were driven by macroeconomic stability goals rather than by a coherent vision for the labor market; third, reforms focused on a downward pressure on job security and employability in spite of slack labor demand; and, fourth, there was limited consideration of the impact of precariousness and career insecurity on young people and their life courses. We argue that European and national employment policy need to focus on durable and resilient labor markets for young women and men transitioning from school to work in the postcrisis period.