Impact of an Economic Crisis on Youth Employment: Evidence from 2008 Financial Crisis in Spain

Abstract

This article addresses the impact that the previous economic crisis had on Spanish economy, focusing on the effects on employment. Therefore, the data on the employed population drawn from the economically active population surveys are broken down by age groups, to analyse the 2008 financial crisis. The model created makes it possible to quantify the losses in production and employment in all sectors, highlighting construction, manufacturing, real estate, and professional and administrative activities as the most affected sectors due to the fall in youth employment. The results obtained allow different employment policies to be focused on sectors most affected by the economic crisis and show that crises do not equally affect all works, because younger workers have suffered disproportional job losses.