Report calls for actions to cut youth jobless rate

WITH Ireland’s youth unemployment rate now the second highest in western Europe, a report has recommended a number of key measures to get young people back to work.

The study prepared by the National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI) is the result of 18 months of consultation with young jobseekers, experts and stakeholders along with research and analysis of existing actions and policies to date.

Ireland’s youth unemployment rate has trebled since 2008 and stands at 24.2% among 15 to 24 year-olds, compared with an average rate of unemployment of 19.9% for the 27 European Union member states in 2009.