The global recession has caused unemployment rates to rise almost everywhere, and for almost every group. But it was particularly hard on young people, whose unemployment rates rose much faster than those of adults。

　　Just how badly young people were affected appears to have depended partly on how severe the local downturn was and partly on local labor practices and laws. Some of the hardest-hit young people were in countries with the most protections for older workers。

　　The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which includes 29 mostly rich countries, released a study this week of youth unemployment in advance of a meeting of labor ministers from the Group of 20 countries, scheduled for Monday in Washington. "There are currently nearly 15 million youth unemployed in the O.E.C.D. area, about four million more than at the end of 2007," stated the study。

　　The largest unemployment rate for young people — defined as ages 15 to 24 in most countries and 16 to 24 in others — was in Spain, where in the final quarter of last year the unemployment rate was 39.6 percent, more than double the 19.1 percent of two years earlier. For adults, the rate rose to 16.9 percent from 7.4 percent. Spain, like many European countries, provides protection for those with permanent jobs, a fact that led some employers to expand the use of temporary jobs, which provide fewer benefits. "Most of the job losses were recorded among workers on temporary jobs, many of whom are youth," the study stated。

　　The exception to the trend was in Germany, where unemployment among young people actually declined, to 10.3 percent, over the two-year period. The study attributed that in part to "a rather successful apprenticeship system that ensures a relatively smooth transition from school to work for most youth."

　　"For disadvantaged youth lacking basic education, a failure in their first experience on the labor market is often difficult to make up and may expose them to long-lasting scarring effects."

　　美国《纽约时报》：全球失业 四处都是年轻的脸

　　全球经济衰退导致失业率上升，几乎所有地区和群体都不例外。但年轻人受到的打击尤为沉重，其失业率上升速度远远快于年纪较大的成年人。

　　年轻人会受到多大影响，部分取决于当地经济衰退的严重程度，部分取决于当地的劳动法规和相关习俗。一部分受到最严重打击的年轻人身处那些为年纪较大的就业者提供最多保护的国家。

　　包括29个最富裕国家在内的经济合作与发展组织(经合组织)上周发表了一份研究年轻人失业状况的报告。而本周一，二十国集团的劳工部长们将在华盛顿召开会议。这份研究报告称：“目前经合组织国家中有将近1500万年轻人失业，比2007年底大约多了400万。”

　　年轻人--在大多数国家，是指15岁到24岁，在另一些国家，是指16岁到24岁--失业率最高的是西班牙，去年最后一个季度为39.6%，比两年前的19.1%翻了一番还不止。年龄较长成年人的失业率从7.4%上升到16.9%。与很多欧洲国家一样，西班牙为拥有固定工作的人提供?；?，这一事实导致了一些雇主增加了福利较少的临时工作的数量。研究报告称：“失业的大多数是临时工，其中很多是年轻人。”

　　与趋势相反的是德国。在德国，年轻人失业率有所下降，两年来已经降至10.3%。研究报告认为，这一现象部分归功于“一个相当成功的学徒制度，去报了大多数年轻人相对平稳得从学校过渡到工作”。

　　报告称，“对于受教育不够的年轻人，或者缺乏工作经验的年轻人，可能不太容易在短期内找到工作，而因失业而受到负面影响的时间也会因此被延长。”