The problem of “unacceptable” rates of youth unemployment in Europe and Latin America requires “political will” to resolve it, the International Labor Organization’s Elizabeth Tinoco said.

“I think it’s possible to provide decent work for young people and advance in the development of policies that create decent jobs, and I think it is possible with collective political will,” Tinoco, the ILO’s regional director for Latin American and Caribbean, told Efe in an interview.

She was in Burgos to take part in a discussion of labor and the role of youth, being held in parallel with the 17th conference for the Youth Ministers of Ibero-American states.

In Latin America, average youth unemployment rates hover around 13.7 percent, increasing to 17 percent among young women.

While those figures are low compared with Spain, where the rate is 54 percent, or Portugal, 35 percent, they are all “unacceptable,” Tinoco says.

“There is a risk that jobless rates will increase, because job creation is associated with economic growth and this seems to be a slow process. That is disturbing because it creates a framework of hopelessness and a bleak future in terms of not only the integration of a society, but also of democratic governance,” she said.

The ILO official stressed that governments should listen to their youthful constituencies because they are demanding solutions. She referred to Uruguay, Colombia, Costa Rica and Argentina as examples of nations that have laws regarding formalization of employment, which she considered essential, as informal employment in Latin America stands at 47.7 percent.

Informal jobs offer no benefits and are often marked by low wages and difficult working conditions.

“Just creating jobs is not enough, they should be created with guarantees and quality. The ILO does not cease to draw attention to this issue,” she said.

Tinoco cited Honduras, where high unemployment is directly linked to phenomena such as gang violence and mass emigration.

Source: EFE