Youth labor market, pandemic and public policies

To tackle COVID-19 effects on labour markets and, in particular, on youth labour markets, governments adopted an unprecedent pack of public policy measures, some of them youth-specific. The aims of this research are: (i) identifying the categories and characteristics of labour market policies implemented in EU and Portugal, namely youth-related; (ii) assessing how countries adapted them throughout the pandemic; (iii) identifying the main negative impacts of COVID-19 on the evolution of the labour market; and (iv) concluding to what extent there is evidence that the policy measures adopted (e.g., Job Retention Schemes and Active Labour Market Policies) had the effect of counteracting those negative effects on total population and on youngsters. Based on Policy Watch databases, statistical and administrative data and documentation, different phases of the policies implementation are identified. In a first immediate response, Job Retention Schemes were widely implemented in EU and had different characteristics. In a second stage, labour market evolution imposed a constant adaptation, and public authorities targeted policies to the more affected groups. A third stage was characterized by public policies aimed to incentivise firms to go back to production and, in many EU countries, public subsidies were implemented to incentivise the hiring of young unemployed or the unemployed population in general. Policy measures were put in place to mitigate the pandemic effects on labour market on the supply side and on the demand side, especially through Job Retention Schemes. But, in the case of Portugal, there is still a lack of evidence that public measures were capable of supporting the permanent hiring of young people in a sustainable way. By the end of 2021, global unemployment rate was below pre-pandemic levels but the same did not occur for the young.