I’m not well versed in the topic, but this sounds like a contradiction to me. I have not seen it addressed anywhere.
1. The issue with an aging population is that there are not enough young people working to support the elderly. But if there are not enough working-age people, then shouldn’t youth unemployment (and in general), be low? (I do get the idea of skill-job mismatch, but one also has to be employed to gain skills)
Eg in China, they have an aging population, and fewer working-age people due to the one-child policy, but youth unemployment is high.
2. If youth unemployment is high, doesn’t it suggest that there are too many young people? If there are too many young people, then why is low fertility a problem? (I do understand that low fertility and youth unemployment are one generation apart though)
Thanks.
In: Economics
Three reasons, this mostly applies to developed countries, and can vary from nation to nation:
>Infant Mortality Rate — this has changed drastically since the 20th Century. As such, people don’t have 7 pregnancies that result in 4 children who make it past 3. People are able to plan how many children they’d like to have and when, for the most part.
>Modernization — people don’t live on family farms anymore, they don’t homestead. More kids = more hands to work the farm.
>Cost of Living — as prices for basic needs soar, people are less inclined to have children. It’s not financially practical for many, so with birth rates dropping, there aren’t as many children to replace the elderly.
As for youth unemployment specifically, it’s mostly over saturation. Entry-level positions will always be completely inundated by employees, while higher-level positions tend to have more openings because they have more requirements.
On-the-job training is an investment most companies aren’t willing to make though. And with higher education still being financially inaccessible for many people, most never see their full potential. Someone who has the mental aptitude to be a doctor could become stuck flipping burgers because they got paywalled by college.
The alternative to this is some form of trade or vocational school. However, even this costs money and can be fairly inaccessible for low-income people.
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