Youth unemployment has reduced significantly since the financial crash, but the number of young people in employment has never fully recovered, according to a new report.
The research was commissioned by the National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI) and produced by TASC (Think Tank for Action on Social Change).
It found that falls in youth unemployment mask low pay, insecure work and barriers to independence.
Between 2000 and 2008, around 400,000 people aged 15 to 24 were in employment, according to the report.
That number fell by more than half between 2008 and 2012 during the financial crisis.
It gradually recovered in the years that followed, but after reaching 320,600 in the third quarter of 2021, progress appears to have stalled.
The most recent figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show that in July, the monthly unemployment rate for people aged 15-24 was 12.3%, up from a revised rate of 11.8% in June.
The report found that youth unemployment remains more than the Government’s own benchmark of two and a half times the rate among workers aged 25 and over.
The research also identifies a “sharp and lasting fall” in labour market participation among 15 to 24-year-olds.
Read more: Unemployment rate ticks up to 5.1% in July – CSO
Fewer young people are participating in the labour market than before the financial crisis, even as participation among older workers has continued to rise, according to the report.
“The fall in youth unemployment since the financial crisis is real and important. But it does not tell us whether young people can find secure, fairly paid work or build an independent life,” said Kathryn Walsh, Director of Policy and Advocacy at NYCI.
“Despite near-full employment, many young people are facing sub-minimum wages, unaffordable housing, social exclusion and continued pressure to emigrate,” Ms Walsh said.
The report highlights increases in the proportion of workers on the sub-minimum wage, as well as increases in the proportion of working young people living with their parents.
“A serious youth employment strategy must consider whether young people can access decent work, adequate income and secure housing, and how employment might provide a route to an independent life for young people in Ireland,” said Oisín Gilmore, author of the report and Senior Economist at TASC.