Updating My High Youth Unemployment Article From Last Year

Around this time last year I published an article about the growing youth unemployment problem. The reason I published an article about this topic is that I sought to highlight how the level of youth unemployment in several countries, a factor that many commentators believe contributed to the unrest in Tunisia and Egypt in 2011, is comparable to or even higher than the level of youth unemployment in Tunisia and Egypt. The concern that some experts have is that high levels of youth unemployment could eventually lead to the kind of unrest seen in countries like Tunisia and Egypt.

Today I want to update that article by sharing updated statistics about the youth unemployment situation in several countries around the world.

• The original article I wrote last year about this topic can be accessed at the following link

The table below shows youth unemployment rates for several major countries around the world. The following bullet points should help to clarify what each category listed in the table below represents.

• Last Article Rate: The youth unemployment rate reported in my previous article about the topic.

• Rate: The most recent youth unemployment rate that I could find.

• Change: The change in the youth unemployment rate since my previous article about the topic.

• Date: The period when the youth unemployment rate was measured.

• Age Group: Countries define “youth unemployment” differently when it comes to which ages are included. This category describes which ages are included in a country’s “youth unemployment” measure.

Youth Unemployment Rates
	Last Article Rate	Rate	Change	Date	Age Group
Australia	18%	17.30%	-0.7%	Dec-11	15-19
USA	19.10%	16.70%	-2.4%	Dec-11	16-24
Canada	14.40%	14.10%	-0.3%	Dec-11	15-24
Britain	20.30%	22.30%	+2.0%	Dec-11	16-24
France	24.60%	23.80%	-0.80%	Dec-11	Under 25
Germany	8.60%	7.80%	-0.80%	Dec-11	Under 25
Portugal	21.70%	30.80%	+9.1%	Dec-11	Under 25
Spain	42.80%	48.70%	+5.9%	Dec-11	Under 25
Greece	34.60%	47.20%	+12.60%	Oct-11	Under 25
Italy	29%	31%	+2.0%	Dec-11	Under 25
Ireland	29.10%	29%	-0.1%	Dec-11	Under 25

Notes:

• Government statistics tend to understate a problem, so it is possible that the true youth unemployment rate in a particular country is higher than the rate listed in the table.  Interestingly, Spain's National Statistics Institute reported the 16 to 24 youth unemployment rate at 51.4% or nearly 3% higher than the rate provided by Eurostat.
• The youth unemployment rate was approximately 25% in Egypt and 30% in Tunisia when these countries experienced their respective uprisings in 2011.

The youth unemployment problem has dramatically worsened (with the exception of Ireland) in the countries which are at the forefront of the ongoing sovereign debt crisis in Europe over the past year (highlighted in yellow in the table). The extremely high level of youth unemployment in Spain and Greece (nearly 50%!) could create an explosive situation in these countries soon.

• I would not be surprised if we saw extreme instability in countries like Spain and Greece if the situation does not improve soon. The youth unemployment rates are so high in these countries that there is a real risk that a large number of youths will become so desperate and angry about the economic situation that they’ll resort to applying pressure to their respective governments to bring change far beyond what has taken place already (for instance, you could see the unemployed youths in Spain organize to apply political pressure far beyond what the Indignants movement applied in 2011).

I’ll conclude this updated article by quoting the ending of my previous article about youth unemployment problem because I think it still helps to explain how the problem is relevant to those of us interested in Bible prophecy.

The Bible suggests that we are supposed to see political instability or “commotions” prior to the Second Coming of Christ.

• Luk 21:9 But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not by and by.

Therefore, we should not be surprised to see political unrest arise around the globe because it must happen: “these things must first come to pass”. The current youth unemployment problem may play a role in helping to create the coming global political unrest as it seems to have played a role in Egypt and Tunisia’s unrest and it is a problem that is prevalent in many areas of the world.