歐洲年輕人就業前景不容樂觀

Euro-zone youth unemployment will remain elevated for at least the next half-decade, the International Labor Organization said Tuesday, forecasting a small reduction in the jobless rate will come from young people withdrawing from the labor market instead of stronger hiring activity.

國際勞工組織(International Labor Organization)週二說，至少在未來五年，歐元區年輕人的失業率將繼續高企。該組織預計失業率會有小幅下降，但導致下降的不是招聘活動增多，而是年輕人退出勞動力市場。

The Geneva-based agency of the United Nations projects that 15-to-24 year-olds in the 17-member economic bloc will face jobless rates of nearly 22% in 2013 that will dip modestly to 21.4% in 2017. In the U.S., youth unemployment is forecast to fall from 17.4% this year to 13.3% in 2017.

總部位於日內瓦的國際勞工組織預計，歐元區17國15歲至24歲人羣的失業率將在2013年達到接近22%的水平，2017年將小幅降至21.4%。預計2017年美國年輕人的失業率將從今年的17.4%降至13.3%。

Long-term youth unemployment has long-term consequences for young people and for businesses, according to the ILO and other labor market experts.

國際勞工組織和其他勞動力市場專家說，年輕人長期失業對年輕人自己和企業都有着長期的影響。

The longer someone is out of work, the harder it is for them to get a job and the more likely they will be stuck in lower-paying or temporary positions for the rest of their working lives. Already, more young people are being pushed into part-time work contracts, unable to secure permanent alternatives.

一個人失業時間越長，找工作難度越大，而且更有可能是一輩子停留在低薪崗位或臨時崗位上。已經有越來越多的年輕人無法找到固定工作，不得不跟僱主簽訂兼職合同。

'Temporary and long-term unemployment early in a person's work life will have lasting effects on finding a job with the proper career perspectives related to that person's competences and skills. In some case, even 10 or 15 years after the person's entry in the labor market can he or she continue to suffer from such early adverse labor market conditions,' said Ekkehard Ernst, Chief of the ILO Employment Trends Unit.

國際勞工組織就業趨勢部(Employment Trends Unit)負責人恩斯特(Ekkehard Ernst)說，在職業生涯的早期階段暫時或長期失業，將對一個人能不能找到一份職業前景與自己能力相符的工作產生持續影響；在某些情況下，即便進入職場已經10年或15年，這種早期負面經驗也會繼續產生影響。

'Skills and labor market experience typically start to deteriorate after six months of unemployment and then at an increasing rate.'

他說，失業六個月後，技能和勞動市場經驗往往就開始下滑，過後就會加速下降。

Youth unemployment is also a risk to the companies expecting to rely on their labor. Employers will face the challenge of finding workers qualified to fill vacancies, especially as the stretched-out recovery is 'likely to intensify the quest of young, more mobile people to seek their fortunes abroad,' says the ILO.

年輕人失業也對指望依靠他們效力的企業構成了風險。國際勞工組織說，僱主將很難找到合格勞動者填補職位空缺，更何況復甦過程過於漫長有可能加劇流動性更高的年輕人到境外尋找出路的渴望。

Many corporate leaders are already concerned, as euro area governments focus on trimming their budgets. 'The private sector does need to step up,' said Patrick Dempsey, managing director of U.K. hospitality firm Whitbread PLC's hotels and restaurants division

隨着歐元區各國政府把重心放到削減預算上來，很多企業領導人已經對此引起重視。英國惠特貝瑞公司(Whitbread PLC)負責酒店與餐飲部門的執行董事登普西(Patrick Dempsey)說，私營部門確實需要進一步努力。

At the Business-20 Summit of global corporate leaders over the summer in Los Cabos, Mexico, a task force that included the chief executive of Coca-Cola Co., president of the Confederation of Italian Industries and president of the French Federation of Insurance Companies called for industry commitments of 'concrete action' to increase apprenticeships and internships by 20% in the year ahead.

今年夏天在墨西哥洛斯卡沃斯舉行的“Business-20”峯會上，一個由可口可樂(Coca-Cola Co.)首席執行長、意大利產業聯合會(Confederation of Italian Industries)會長和法國保險業聯合會(French Federation of Insurance Companies)會長等人組成的工作組呼籲企業採取切實措施，在未來一年將見習生和實習生數量提高20%。

They also challenged businesses to improve the image and quality of these training programs, so that they provide a better bridge between formal education and the type of skills employers need.

他們還呼籲企業提高培訓項目的形象和質量，讓其在正規教育和僱主所需技能中間發揮更好的橋樑作用。

The call to action hasn't been heeded across the board in Europe.

歐洲並沒有完全聽從這種呼籲。

Most new apprenticeship and training programs are confined to the customer services, health, and retail industries. For instance, Whitbread has pledged to fill 50% of its job openings this year with young people; mobile phone and broadband provider O2 is increasing the number of paid apprenticeships; Starbucks Corp.'s U.K. business launched a 12-month apprenticeship scheme in February; and Tesco PLC is for the first time offering a two-year training program for U.K. school leavers to join its commercial buying and merchandising teams.

多數新設立的見習項目、培訓項目都侷限於消費者服務、醫療和零售行業。比如惠特貝瑞曾承諾今年50%的空缺崗位用年輕人填補，手機和寬帶提供商O2將增加帶薪見習生的數量，星巴克(Starbucks Corp.)的英國子公司在今年2月啓動了一個爲期12月的見習計劃，樂購(Tesco PLC)將首次爲加入其採購和促銷團隊的英國畢業生推出一個爲期兩年的培訓項目。

'We're less good at doing the high-level apprenticeships, like engineering or computers - the stuff which makes you really valuable in the workplace,' said Neil Lee, a senior economist at The Work Foundation of Lancaster University in northern England.

英格蘭北部蘭開斯特大學就業基金會(The Work Foundation of Lancaster University)高級經濟學家Neil Lee說，我們不太擅長做工程類或電腦類的高端見習──這些東西纔會讓你真正成爲職場的寶貴人才。