The Covid-19 pandemic could have a lasting effect throughout young people’s career

25/09/2020

In Hungary, the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic increased the number of registered jobseekers below 25 years of age by almost 60 percent from January until July 2020. There is also a significant risk that young persons leaving education this year will have a lower chance of securing their first jobs and successfully entering the labour market.

In this situation, active labour market instruments supporting youth employment can play an important role in mitigating the consequences of the pandemic-related labour market shocks. The Youth Employment PartnerSHIP project, launched at the end of 2018 and funded by the EEA and Norway Grants Fund for Youth Employment, is to measure the effectiveness labour market programs within the Youth Guarantee system in Spain, Hungary, Italy and Poland. 

The pandemic has negative effects not only on young people’s current labour market and financial situation but also on their later outcomes as unemployment suffered at the beginning of the career can have a long-lasting impact on the whole professional life. 

This „scarring effect” of recessions was one of the topics examined in the recent publication the Hungarian Labor Market 2019. The 2019 issue of this yearbook series, which presents the main characteristics and trends of the Hungarian labour market, was co-edited and partly written by the Budapest Institute for Policy Analysis’ researchers. The centrepiece of 2019 edition was the special focus on the education and the labour market situation of youth in the past ten years in Hungary. 

The Hungarian Labour Market 2019 can be downloaded in one file or by chapter.