Unemployment and social and political exclusion
Younex is an EU-funded project improving our understanding of the causes, processes and perspectives for change regarding the social and political exclusion of precarious and unemployed youth. Taking an integrated approach through a comprehensive analysis of the topic from various standpoints, partners are advancing opportunities for policy-learning and the transfer of scientific findings into policy recommendations. An institutional analysis shows wide cross-national variations in each dimension of the political context, while an organisational survey shows that civil society organisations (CSOs) support integration. They achieve this by fostering engagement and political or public awareness on specific issues like unemployment, as well as by delivering services related to welfare provisions. As such, CSOs represent an important vehicle for integration by closing gaps and meeting needs. Results of individual surveys reveal that long-term–unemployed young Europeans run the risk of social exclusion, and can be described as politically uninterested rather than politically excluded. They are not a homogenous group, differing in a range of areas such as socio-demographic background, attitudes to work, employment and unemployment, experiences of social and political exclusion, and experiences of well-being. Qualitative in-depth interviews offer significant insights, especially in terms of how young people cope with their situation, and the impact of unemployment on social and political exclusion. An analysis of related EU policies has also been carried out, revisiting relevant policy agendas, initiatives and recommendations by institutions in Europe. Not surprisingly, project work highlights that national and local situations differ and therefore call for policies and measures aimed at improvements in the social and political spheres to consider the specific context in which they will be implemented. Younex activities will continue to generate new data on the subject to inform and support public authorities and non-state welfare organisations in their efforts to improve youth inclusion in social and political life.
