Social disinvestment and vulnerable groups in Europe in the aftermath of the financial crisis. The case of young people in Portugal
This report is prepared in the framework of the Europe H2020 project 'Rebuilding an inclusive, value based Europe of solidarity and trust through social investments' (RE-InVEST). The project aims to evaluate the social investment strategy of the European Commission implemented in 2013 in response to the social damage of the financial crisis in 2008. The RE-InVEST consortium aims to assess the social damage of the crisis drawing from human rights and capability based approaches and focuses on those vulnerable groups mostly affected by the crisis in the 12 countries (and 13 regions) (UK (=EN+SC), IE, PT, NL, RO, LV, IT, BE, DE, AT, CH) covered by the study. The analyses are carried out by the local partners, who consist of NGOs and/or research institutions. Portugal has been particularly hard hit by the economic crisis. The high unemployment, low employment, rising of poverty and social exclusion, and declining household incomes resulted in a lack of confidence concerning to occupation safety and future economic growth. Social expenditure played a strong role in stabilising household incomes; nonetheless it was reduced due to the sovereign debt crisis. As new entrants to labour market, young people face serious difficulties to get a job. This is mostly exacerbated when they do not receive any kind of social protection and moreover are obliged to accept job offers. The focus of the research on young unemployed is due to the fact of the unemployment being the major problem among young people under 25 years old. This group has been so severely hit by the economic crisis and so it is a great concern and a top priority[1] among EU Member States. As other countries, Portugal needs to reduce youth unemployment. According to the Monthly Employment and Unemployment Estimates (Instituto Nacional de Estatística – INE ( National Statistical Institute) March 2015, the unemployment rate among young people stood at 35.0%[2] (unemployment of 25-64 year-olds in Portugal is 14.5% compared to the OECD average of 7.5%). This ...