PwC study: Young Workers Index
PwC's "Young Workers Index" shows Switzerland and Germany as the most successful, leading countries in a comparison of employment and education and training of young people.
The study compares the share of employment and education and training of young people in 34 OECD countries. The index for most countries declined between 2006 and 2011, reflecting the negative impact of the global financial crisis on the young working population. Although many countries experienced a clear upturn after 2011, the average index in 2014 for the entire OECD remained sharply below pre-2006 levels.
If individual countries were to reduce the share of 20-24 year-olds who are not in the labor force or are in education to the level in Germany, most OECD countries would be able to boost their GDP considerably and in the long term. This would result in a potential increase of about one percent for Sweden and Denmark, about three percent for the U.S. and the U.K., and about seven to nine percent for Spain, Greece, Italy and Turkey.
Key findings:
- Switzerland and Germany top the list of the most successful countries in 2014, followed by Austria, Iceland, Norway and Canada.
- Although many countries saw a clear upturn after 2011, the average index in 2014 for the OECD as a whole remained sharply below its pre-2006 level.
Based on 2015 GDP values, the OECD's potential long-term GDP could be around USD 1.2 billion.
The multi-page study (presented in English) can be found at:
http://www.pwc.ch/news/en/23690/
