The current economic downturn has brought about a worsening in the labour market performance of Danish youth. In the year to the third quarter 2009, the unemployment rate of youth aged 15-24 rose by 2.7 percentage points to 11.4% according to the labour force survey. However, the youth unemployment rate in Denmark is still well below the corresponding OECD average (17.6%) and even below the levels observed in many other OECD countries before the crisis.

Face au ralentissement économique actuel, la situation des jeunes Danois sur le marché du travail s’est aggravée. Entre les troisièmes trimestres 2008 et 2009, le taux de chômage des jeunes de 15 à 24 ans a augmenté de 2.7 points de pourcentage pour s’établir à 11.4 % selon l’Enquête sur les forces de travail. Cependant, le taux de chômage des jeunes au Danemark est encore nettement plus bas que le taux moyen correspondant dans la zone de l’OCDE (17.6 %) et même que les taux observés dans de nombreux pays de l’OCDE avant la crise.

Improving the performance of youth in the labour market is a crucial challenge in OECD countries. Declines in the number of new entrants to the labour market and ageing populations and workforces do not seem to have translated into much better labour market outcomes for youth. Thus it remains crucial to maintain or reinforce policies aimed at better equipping young people with the skills required by the labour market and helping them accomplish a successful transition from school to work.

Until very recently, the Danish economy was reaping the benefits of a long uninterrupted spell of growth that contributed to the emergence of tight labour markets. The country’s good macro-economic performance over the past decade translated into many job opportunities. As a result, the standardised unemployment rate declined to 3.2% in early 2008, the lowest rate recorded since the early 1980s.

Good-quality initial education is crucial in facilitating the transition from school to work and putting youth on a successful career track. Also, on-the-job training at the beginning of active life allows young people to fill the gaps in school-based education and acquire the skills required by firms.

Although education and training policies are central elements of any long-term effective strategy for improving youth labour market prospects, a comprehensive policy framework has to pay attention to opportunities and constraints on the labour market. It must pay particular attention to the labour market arrangements and institutions and their impact on the demand for young people, specifically those with no or limited education or lacking labour market experience.

Under normal economic circumstances, active labour market programmes (ALMPs), such as job-search assistance, training and employment incentive schemes, play an important role during the schoolto- work transition period for youth, especially for the low-skilled ones. During an economic recession that significantly reduces job opportunities for the labour-market entrants, an adequate safety net in combination with well-designed ALMPs is important to preventing youth poverty, disengagement from the labour market and human capital depreciation. Effective ALMPs can also contribute to rapid (re)integration into employment, once the economic growth picks up again.