8 of 1524 years of the European Union are employed

Precarious employment of young people might become what is the eternal female beauty: everyone in talks, in the streets of Paris or in trade union meetings to Parma, everyone seems to acknowledge its existence, but no specialized encyclopedia provides exact definition or does provide specific data on this subject. Any attempt to address this concept of a lexical and empirical point of view inevitably starts with a General dictionary. Precariousness is presented as a synonym of "uncertainty, instability, temporary and transient state. The Latin root of the word ("prex, specific" prayer) reminds that precariousness is obtained by "divine grace" (literally, prayer), and not by the Act. The question of the time plays a role, and fundamental in precarious employment of young people to three titles: the historical changes, workers age and cohort effect. I'll try to explain it based on what is happening in Europe, in particular France and Italy.

With regard to the first point, the young active population reduction certainly increased in recent years. It is sufficient to note that, between 2000 and 2004, the chances of finding a job for a young European average of 15 to 24 years have declined, while the employment rate of older still in activity (55-64 years) increased in all twenty-five countries of the Union European, except in Poland and the Portugal. However, it is unlikely that this evolution is originally the growing feeling of uncertainty that shared the younger generation. Those who are today a 20 years have indeed not known more favourable working conditions that prevailed in Europe five years ago. Those who have known no longer appear in the same age group. Note that the France and the Italy are among the few European countries where the employment rate of young people aged 15 to 24 rose over the past five years.

Regarding the second point (the age of workers), it is true that youth occupy a more uncertain place on the market of labor age population means (25-54 years) and even older (55-64 years). All indicators show, whether the level of wages, lower the rate of poverty, higher, or the degree of instability, more marked. For example, the youth of the European Union unemployment rate exceeded 18 per cent in 2004, or twice the average European. In France, it exceeded the 20, while average national was 9.4. In Italy, he came to 27, or three times the average national. only 36.8 of 15-24 years of the European Union are employed. They are 30.4 in France and 27.6 in Italy and these rates are lower than those of the other slices of age of the active population of the Union. Conversely, in Europe, aged 15 to 24 employees with a temporary work contract (13.7 on average) are two times more numerous than those of 25 to 34 years and almost four times more than the older. According to the Insee, 50 of the French youth who find a job in the year following their departure from the school signed a temporary contract, while they were only 25 15 years ago. After the Bank of Italy, the share of temporary contracts offered to persons of 15-29 years for a first engagement is 49.8 in the country (46.4 a year ago), against 40.5 for the whole of the active population.

Yet so important they, these data cannot alone explain the lack of hope in the future that characterizes of more young Europeans. If it was only a matter of age, an own youth problem, simply wait until age a bit. The problem is in fact more serious because it is linked to a third time, factor highlighted by figures reflecting a demographic group gave his active life. In 2004, the European Commission has published a study on the evolution of a sample of employees followed for six years (from 1995 to 2001). In this study, 100 European employees employed on a temporary contract, less than a third get a contract indefinite after one year, 44 retain a temporary job, 3 become independent, 4 resumed their studies and 18 find themselves unemployed. Worse still, after six years, 55 only of them sign a contract to indeterminate, while 21 have more employment. In France, after six years, 62 of those hired on a temporary contract to obtain a contract for indefinite period, 16 always holding a temporary position, 11 are unemployed and 9 came out of the labour market. In Italy, about 100 temporary contract employees, 47 are only passed in indefinite after six years, 18 have a temporary job, 9 are unemployed and 16 are no longer part of the active population (it is assumed that they were working in the underground economy).

It so easy to understand that a large number of young Europeans think that they will have a precarious employment: slightly more than 50 in Italy and a little less than 40 in France half of young people starting to work with a temporary contract believe that they will not get an indeterminate position, even after 2010. Given that in Europe in General, France and Italy in particular, the probability of getting a job with an indeterminate term after six years of research still appears lower in those who make their entry in the population active as job-seekers, the rejection of precarious contracts of CPE and CNE type should be considered with caution. On the rigid labour markets, where the hires are limited because layoffs are expensive, but where the rotation of staff remain frequent, the prospect of a long term work proves anyway better for young people with employment term for the unemployed who are seeking an indeterminate position.