Sharp fall in youth employment

At University.Photo: Frank May / NTB scanpix

In one year there has been 22,000 fewer youth in the labor market. A tougher job market makes youth study more – and they study longer.

Among those between 15 and 24 years old, employment has fallen by 22,000 positions over the past year, according to figures from Statistics Norway (SSB), according to Aftenposten.

– The decline in employment is especially high in the 20-24 age group, and it comes mainly in the group who are in full-time jobs, says senior advisor Erik Horgen in SSB.

While fewer are in work, there are several who say they are in education, the labor force according to a survey from Statistics Norway. Statisticians say they have seen similar trends in other periods of recession. Also professor Hilde C. Bjørnland thinks those two things are interconnected.

– My guess is that the decline in employment is because it has become more difficult to get a job. It makes more people choose to take education, says Bjørnland, professor in the Department of Economics. She encourages students to be aware when they choose educational paths.

– It is important that they take the proper education and not just drift around the universities or colleges because they did not get the job they wanted, she says.

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today