UpGrad_Me 2.0_Research_FV_EN

4 2. DESK RESEARCH: STATE OF THE ART This section provides an overview of the State of the Art of the different countries involved in the project, considering both the differences in employment and the different resources used to promote the employment orientation of young migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers in the European Union. Unemployment in Europe is a problem that mainly affects the youth population. While the unemployment rate in countries such as Spain, Cyprus, Italy and Malta is 16%, 6.8%, 9%, and 4.4%; the youth unemployment rate is 39.9%, 20.1%, 29.7%, and 11.6%; respectively. The total percentage of unemployed persons in the European Union is 7.3%, while the unemployment rate of persons under 25 years old is 16.9% (Eurostat, January 2021). Especially vulnerable is the situation of youth migrants, minorities, refugees, and asylum seekers, who usually arrive in Europe when they try avoiding armed conflict, political persecution, climate change or unemployment. It is also important to consider the effects that the current health crisis may have on the labour market and on youth unemployment. In order to promote economic growth and social cohesion, the EU has developed policies to improve the labour environment, through the promotion of labour counselling, which has an important role in the social and employment fields (García-Hernández, 2017). Through job guidance and counselling, young people can discover their professional field, improve their competences, skills, and knowledge, as well as improve their recruitment and selection process for a job position. Many times, youth migrants, minorities, refugees, or asylum seekers do not have the resources to access the labour market, which also hinders their employability. It is therefore a priority to develop projects that encourage entrepreneurship, networking, and the empowerment of young people to promote their access to the labour market. If we go deeper into the national contexts of the four partner countries of “ UpGrad_Me 2.0 ” , we can see the differences and similarities. Labour situation in general All countries Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, labour market conditions weakened. The pandemic has affected employment in all the countries in a similar way: loss of jobs, increase of unemployment, more fixed-term contracts, etc. This crisis has particularly affected women, young people, and