The global economic crisis has had a hard blow on youth (aged 15/16 to 24) employment. In early 2013 in the OECD as a whole the youth unemployment rate was stuck at 16.5%, up from 12.1% just prior to the crisis, and two-and-a-half times the unemployment rate for those aged 25 and over and, worryingly, with a marked and continued increase in youth long-term unemployment. Moreover, the alarming figures do not account for those not in employment, education or training (NEET) many of whom do not appear in the official unemployment statistics. Youth unemployment rates are predicted stay high or rise still further in most of the countries as the haltering recovery remains too weak to provide sufficient job opportunities to the many young jobseekers.