Youth employment and measures to increase employability during the crisis

Youth unemployment is an issue that is in the heart of the concerns for European Union (EU). Young people face specific problems on the labor market, constituting a risk group, regardless of their qualifications. The main barrier for young people in finding a job is the lack of work experience. The paper includes an exploratory approach of quantitative and qualitative research, having as a main objective assessment of social perceptions on possible measures to facilitate the insertion of the labor market. The main dimensions of research considered in sociological investigation has in view the behavior of young people who seeking employment and evaluation of a set of seven measures proposed to increase the employability of young people active in Romania. Measures to increase the employability of young people in crisis, considered in this paper are beneficial for both young workers and employers, mostly in terms of obtaining a stable position on the labor market for young workers and in terms of training the future workforce and increasing external flexibility, for employers. The general conclusions of the paper are considering methods of searching for a job, the most common reasons for vacancy and a summary of the measures panel tested. Recommendations include five main policy areas of action of representatives of governments, employers and workers organizations to increase youth employability.