São Paulo, 7/15/2004 (Agência Brasil) - Economic growth is not going to be sufficient to create a place in the job market for young Brazilians. There is a need, as well, for government programs to reduce social inequality, says Regina Novaes of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, who is part of the Youth Project of the Citizenship Institute (Projeto Juventude, do Instituto Cidadania).

The project just ran a survey, interviewing 3,501 youths between the ages of 15 and 24, in order to get a reading on the concerns and dreams of Brazil's 34 million youths in that age group´(20% of the population).

The survey found that 36% of those interviewed had a job, 24% were effectively out of the job market (never had a job and were not looking for work), 32% have had a job but are presently unemployed, and 8% are looking for jobs, although they have never worked.

According to Novaes, young people are "afraid of being left out of the future." She points out that this is a generation that has grown up during a recession where parents and relatives have lost their jobs, the purchasing power of wages has fallen and there is a prevailing fear that people who lose their jobs will be unable to find a new job.

(Translator: Allen Bennett)