What’s in Store for a Generation of Unemployed Youth?

The Takeaway | Oct 23, 2014

Millennials living in the United States have not fared well following the financial crisis. Young people aged 16-24 are facing unemployment rates that are double the national average, but overseas the figures are even more daunting.

The GroundTruth Project, housed at Takeaway partner station WGBH, has been investigating the causes and consequences of what has been called a global unemployment crisis.

The Takeaway speaks with Coleen Jose and Lauren Bohn about their reporting for the project from the Philippines and Nigeria. Their work was published on Global Post as part of the year-long Generation T.B.D. series, which explores youth unemployment worldwide.

Bohn reports that government corruption and incompetence in Nigeria have held back some young people. Meanwhile in the Philippines, Jose explains that it is “common practice for employers to require details including a person’s age, weight, and a photograph to accompany a job application.” She also reports that many service industry businesses even "require an applicant to meet a minimum height to be considered." 

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