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The social inclusion of Latin American youth, like that of much of the global South, is at stake in the coming years, and with it, the poverty rates, inequality and even social stability in large areas of the planet. According to a report released by Ayuda en Acción and the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the labor and social situation of Latin American youth faces a major challenge between now and 2030.
Given the growing importance of the service sector in the region's economies, more and more young people are moving away from traditional jobs in agriculture and industry to seek new employment opportunities. While in the medium term this trend may improve the standard of living of youth, there are still high risks of increasing poverty rates, informality and inequality. Without adequate public policies to support youth in this new labor context, their social inclusion is at stake, and with it, the very stability of the region and the migratory flows arising from it. In this respect, Ayuda en Acción calls for the strengthening of the EU's economic and social cooperation instruments with the region, including the Global Gateway initiative, as an appropriate way to ensure inclusion and stability in an increasingly important strategic partner for Europe.
The report, entitled Prospective Study of Youth Employment in Latin America. Education and training for work as a key factor, estimates that in 2030 more than 1.2 million young people will leave the agricultural sector and nearly 640,000 will leave the manufacturing sector in the 16 countries of the region studied. In contrast, more than 1.8 million will move into the service sector. These transformations result largely from the environmental, demographic and technological changes the region is facing: a significant loss of jobs, especially in rural areas; an increase in urbanization processes, with their high capacity to attract the younger labor force; and the impact of automation and digitalization processes on employment.
Despite its capacity to offer new opportunities, the Latin American service sector also has significant productivity challenges as well as a high rate of informality. The research concludes that, in the short term, this transformation could lead to an improvement in labor conditions both in terms of wages and access to social protection. However, the absence of public policies to support these processes of profound structural change makes it difficult for these benefits to be widely distributed among the youth, especially among the most vulnerable groups.
“Without the support of specific public policies to mitigate these risks, unemployment rates and labor instability are expected to increase, especially given the growing pressure of internal migration processes due to climate change and the reconfiguration of intra-regional migration,” explains Matías Figueroa, Director of the Ayuda en Acción's Europe Program.
Europe and Latin America: a strategic partnership for youth development
The ongoing profound transformation of the labor market in Latin America, and in general throughout the global South, is a significant challenge for the relationship between the European Union and these regions. According to Ayuda en Acción, in a context of growing global instability, strengthening the strategic partnership between these regions and the EU is key, and educational, labor and social cooperation is fundamental to this end. It is not only a matter of mitigating the possible risks of social instability in Latin America but, above all, of exploiting the opportunities that the green and digital transition offers to the youth in the region. "If during the new cycle the EU wants to truly strengthen its role as a strategic partner of Latin America in building a multilateral and stable future that is mutually beneficial for both regions, the training of Latin American youth and their access to quality employment in certain sectors is an essential lever," said Figueroa.
The NGO spokesperson highlights the importance that, as part of its economic cooperation agenda with the region, the EU should support the strengthening of vocational training fully adapted to the demands of the green and digital sectors, promote public-private partnerships for investment and training in education and support the development of labor information systems, among other measures indicated in its report.
According to the NGO, economic growth is an indispensable, but not sufficient factor for the development of quality jobs, and it is necessary to implement policies that formalize informal employment, support entrepreneurship, reduce gender inequalities and, in general, ensure the active participation of young people in the creation of public policies.
Challenges for 2030
To counteract this possible scenario, the study identifies several priority areas of intervention that could be included in the cooperation agenda between the EU and the region to ensure more inclusive development:
- Formalize the high rate of youth labor informality in Latin America.
- Promote direct and indirect job creation for young people in high-value sectors.
- Combat gender inequalities that significantly affect young women in the labor market.
- Strengthen labor information systems, ensuring that young people have access to up-to-date data on labor market opportunities and trends.
- Invest in education and training: developing academic support programs and strengthening the quality of vocational education and training.
