The kids aren’t alright, but youth unemployment drops

Brazil’s youth unemployment rate fell to 16 percent in Q3, according to data recently released by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. The joblessness rate for people aged 18 to 24 is at its lowest level since late 2014 — and has been on a continuous downward trend since early 2021.

High youth unemployment has been a dark spot for more than a decade. Brazil experienced its two worst recessions on record in the last ten years — first between 2014 and 2016, and then during the pandemic.

Essentially, during a recession, young workers cannot wait for the right job to come along, as they must take on any employment to guarantee income, potentially interrupting their studies to get a job. The result could be a large number of workers in lower-skilled positions due to incomplete education or lack of opportunities in higher-skilled jobs.

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