The power of youth

When surveyed in 2021, a majority of OECD-based youth organisations felt that their government had not incorporated the views of young people when taking emergency measures and decisions to mitigate the crisis.

Only 15% of respondents felt their government considered young people’s views when adopting lockdown measures and a mere 26% somewhat or strongly agreed that their views were reflected in the design of financial schemes to help prevent job and income loss.

Governments, NGOs and civil society will need to work together to increase opportunities for young people to shape response and recovery measures in their own countries.

Of the voting-age population across OECD countries, 34% is between the ages of 20 and 39. This compares to 22% of members of parliament (MPs) aged under 40 (from 36% in Norway to 8% in France).

Young participation in public institutions helps ensure public decisions take account of a plurality of views, which supports accountability of policy decisions while bolstering greater public responsiveness to all citizens’ needs and preferences. And it can help build greater public trust.

The consequences of COVID-19 have accelerated pre-existing issues for young people and it will take a joint effort across sectors, stakeholders and generations to solve them.

This is why the OECD launched Youthwise, a Youth Advisory Board made up of exceptional young people aged 18‒30 who bring their perspectives and ideas to the OECD.

Young people have reported much higher levels of anxiety and depression since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic compared with the general adult population. This has widened existing differences.

Data from July 2021 point to 44.8% of young people reporting symptoms of anxiety in the US, compared to 27% for all adults, while 38.6% reported depression compared with 22.1% of adults. Earlier OECD data (from March 2021) showed that young people were 30% to 80% more likely to report symptoms of either depression or anxiety in Belgium, France and the US.

More data and analysis to identify young sub-groups – such as women, LGBTI+ and those from lower socio-economic backgrounds – that may need more support will be needed to better target extra mental health resources.

Engaging young people in the labour market is a matter of personal growth and development – and also of economic growth and social cohesion.

The spike in unemployment as economies locked down during the COVID-19 pandemic underlines the disparity in outcomes by age group: the blow dealt to 15-to-24 year-olds was much harder than to older age groups. The resulting scarring effects on young people hits individual well-being and diminishes the productive capacity of economies – highlighting the need to invest in youth to create quality jobs and build confidence in their future prospects.

How can governments and policy makers do more to help?

Younger adults experienced some of the biggest declines in mental health, social connectedness and life satisfaction in 2020 and 2021, as well as facing job disruption and insecurity.

While the feeling of disconnection from communal life became a widespread reality for many people during the COVID-19 pandemic, the young were consistently more likely to feel left out compared to older age groups at given stages of the pandemic.

This new OECD report looks at how recovery policies centred on long-term well-being can help the most vulnerable and support efforts to rebuild natural, human and social capital after the COVID-19 crisis. These include greater access to lifelong learning, bolstering social capital and strengthening trust.

The OECD's Anja Meierkord discusses how governments could solve high youth unemployment and bridge the digital divide through lifelong learning.

Distancing and loneliness are a risk factor in the development of mental health conditions. The OECD's Shunta Takino explores how governments can provide more support.