International Youth Day, which takes place on August 12 every year, is this year dedicated to celebrating young people’s contributions to conflict prevention and transformation as well as inclusion, social justice, and sustainable peace.

The current cohort of young adults entered adulthood during an economic recession of a severity not experienced since the Great Depression. In her article for IZA World of Labor, Lisa Dettling examines whether this cohort will suffer permanent declines in financial well-being and home ownership.

Meanwhile, the earnings of workers in middle-wage occupations have been declining relative to low-wage and high-wage employment in many advanced economies. Yet employers in a variety of industries are complaining about a mismatch between the skills that they want and the skills that job applicants possess. In his IZA World of Labor article Robert Lerman offers evidence that firms typically reap positive net benefits from well-structured apprenticeship programs.

Suggested articles to read ahead of International Youth Day:

• Do firms benefit from apprenticeship investments? by Robert Lerman
• Effects of entering adulthood during a recession by Lisa Dettling
• Is the return to education the same for everybody? by Douglas Webber

Read more articles on higher education and human capital, youth unemployment, and apprenticeships and training.

Follow International Youth Day on Twitter on August 11 with the hashtag #YouthDay.

• The labor market in Germany, 2000-2016 (Deutsch) by Ulf Rinne and Hilmar Schneider
• Adult literacy programs in developing countries (Deutsch) by Niels-Hugo Blunch
• Why does unemployment differ for immigrants? (Deutsch) by Stephen Drinkwater

Visit the IZA World of Labor site for more concise, informative, evidence-based articles across the spectrum of labor economics.

All newly published one-pagers are also available to read and download in German. Find out more.

Ausgewählte Kurzfassungen unserer Beiträge sind ab jetzt auch auf der Website der Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung (bpb) abrufbar. Weitere Informationen zu unserer Zusammenarbeit mit der bpb finden Sie hier.