One out of every seven people here in Europe between the ages of 15 and 24 who wants a job can't find one.

在歐洲，每 7 個年齡介於 15 歲至 24 歲的青年中就有 1 個人找不到工作。

And many who do have jobs are stuck in part-time or temporary positions.

而許多有工作的人做的要嘛是兼職，要嘛是臨時工。

And it's not just a phenomenon happening here in Europe; young people all around the world are feeling the pain from income inequality.

這個現象不光發生在歐洲，全球的年輕人都受收入不平等的問題所苦。

There are all kinds of inequality in the world like gender, wealth, or race; we're going to look specifically at income inequality and the effect that it's having on younger generations.

世上有各種不平等，如性別、財富或種族，而我們本期節目聚焦收入不平等，以及這個問題對年輕世代造成的影響。

Simply put, income inequality refers to the gap in income, which is the money you earn from your job or investments, between the rich and the poor; it's not exactly a pretty picture right now.

簡單來說，收入不平等指的是富人與窮人間，工作或投資的收入總和的差距。資料顯示，目前的差距並不太好看。

Since 1980, the top 1% has taken a bigger slice of the world's income, while the bottom 50%'s share has stagnated; that picture is even more dramatic in the world's biggest economy, the US.

自 1980 年以來，最富有的 1% 人口瓜分了世界上更多的財富，而底層 50% 的人卻仍原地踏步。這個情況在全球最大的經濟體——美國尤其嚴重。

And in many ways, it's even worse for young people.

而在許多面向下，年輕人更是深受其苦。

Let's come back to Europe to help understand why.

讓我們透過剖析歐洲的情況試著理出頭緒。

After the financial crisis in 2007, incomes declined across the board as people lost their jobs.

2007 年金融危機爆發後，人們因失業而造成收入普遍下降。

Research from the International Monetary Fund found that as the European economy started to recover, the incomes of people aged 65 or older increased by 10%, in part because their pensions were protected.

國際貨幣基金組織的研究指出，隨著歐洲經濟漸漸復甦，65 歲或以上人們的收入增加了 10%，部分原因是他們的退休金獲得保障。

Meanwhile, the incomes of young people recovered but didn't ever grow.

反觀年輕世代雖然恢復收入，但收入並沒有成長。

The research said that because young people didn't have as much professional experience, they were the first to be let go or they were less likely to find work.

研究結果顯示，年輕人經常因為專業資歷尚淺而首先遭到辭退或較難找到工作。

Those who did find jobs often accepted lower wages than before; others took part-time work, which doesn't offer the same benefits or safety nets.

就算找到工作，領的薪水多數也比過去少，至於做兼職的年輕人，則無法享有和正職員工同等的福利或保障。

That helps explain why the youth unemployment rate across the 28 countries in the EU is so high at 14%.

這解釋了為何歐洲 28 國年輕人的失業率高達 14%，

That's more than double the EU's overall unemployment rate across all ages.

比歐洲總失業人數的兩倍還要多。

This younger generation also has more debt relative to their income than any other age group.

比起其他年齡族群，現在的年輕世代也背負更重的債務。

This leaves them much more exposed if the economy unexpectedly gets worse again and could get them into deeper trouble with their finances.

所以他們將無可抵禦更差的經濟情況，甚至可能因財務問題而陷入更膠著的境地。

One glaring example is student debt.

其中一個明顯的例子為學貸。

As demand for higher education in the US has increased over the years, so has the cost of college and student debt.

隨著美國對高等教育的需求逐年升高，學費也變得越來越昂貴，更別提學貸的數字。

National student loan debt sits at $1.5 trillion, making it the second largest type of consumer debt after mortgages.

據統計，全美國學生積欠的貸款已經達到 150 萬兆美元（約 4 千 587 萬兆台幣），是繼抵押貸款之後第二大宗的消費債務。

Student debt is increasingly becoming a concern in other countries too, like Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, South Korea, and Japan.

日益嚴重的學貸問題已經成為了許多國家的隱憂，包括加拿大、英國、紐西蘭、南韓與日本。

You can see how inequality is playing out by looking at poverty rates.

我們從貧窮率來看看收入不平等如何影響年輕人。

Before the financial crisis, the risk of slipping into poverty was more evenly spread among age groups.

在金融危機爆發前，貧窮風險平均分散在每一個年齡層。

Now, one out of every four young people in Europe is at risk of poverty.

然而現在在歐洲，每 4 個年輕人當中就有 1 個人瀕臨破產。

The problem is that many young people have gotten stuck in these low-wage, low-skill, or part-time jobs.

最主要的問題是許多年輕人被困在低薪、低技術與兼職工作的泥沼，

They miss out on opportunities to learn new skills required in jobs that make more money.

以至於錯過可以學習職場所需新技術，換取更高收入的機會。

At the same time, the cost of living is going up; just look at this graph, which shows house prices increasing far faster than income over the past two decades.

在此同時，生活成本不斷攀升。透過這張圖表，我們看到二十年來，人們的收入追不上房價的成長。

This is one reason fewer millennials are part of the middle class than the generations before them.

這也是千禧年代的中產階級，比上個世代的人還要少的原因。

Plus, as the global population ages, public debt is going up as governments finance social assistance programs for the elderly.

再者，隨著全球人口老化，政府為年長者推行更多社會扶助計畫，積下了更多公債。

The burden of paying off that debt, well, it'll likely fall on young people.

這些公債很可能由年輕人來負責償還。

All these costs and more have made young people skeptical of the government and institutions and helped fuel populist movements around the world.

不斷增加的負債加上種種環境因素，讓年輕世代失去對政府與機構的信任，催生全球民粹運動的崛起。

So what can be done? One popular idea is better education and more training.

這個問題要怎麼解決？其中一個常見的建議是為年輕人提供更好的教育和更多的職訓。

In fact, half of young people surveyed here across Europe said the main priority of schools should be to prepare them for employment.

事實上，在一份以歐洲年輕人為受訪對象調查中，將近一半的受訪者認為學校的教育目標應該以培養學生的就職力為優先。

Take Germany's apprenticeship model; students split their time between training at companies and taking classes at public vocational schools.

拿德國學徒制來說，學生在職業學校上課之餘也被安排到企業受訓，

So they get the work experience and the skills they need at the same time.

這樣一來既學到技術又累積了實作經驗。

Data shows this type of training model works to reduce unemployment and inequality.

數據顯示，這種制度能減少失業率與不平等。

Another idea is taxation; some policymakers and politicians have floated wealth taxes that would target companies with a big income gap between their workers.

另一項建議是調整徵稅制度。一些決策者與政治人物提出徵收財富稅，向內部職員薪資差距大的企業課稅。

Others want unions to fight for higher wages.

有些人則寄望工會幫他們爭取提高薪資。

More affordable housing could also help ensure young people aren't priced out of good jobs in cities.

也有人建議建設更多可負擔的房屋，確保年輕人不會因高房價而捨去都市的好工作。

While many of these proposals are wildly popular, they've proven to be a tough sell in the political arena.

雖然這幾項建議都很受歡迎，但卻很難在政治圈推動。

But the economic reality is that addressing inequality among young people benefits all ages.

就經濟的現實面來說，年輕人的收入不平等問題一旦獲得解決將有利於各個年齡層的發展。

This is particularly the case in low-income and emerging market countries, where the IMF found more young people working means more equality for everyone.

特別是國家貨幣基金組織對低收入與新興市場國家的觀察發現，越多年輕人有工作就越能促進社會的平等發展。

Hey everyone, it's Elizabeth here; thanks so much for watching.

嗨各位，我是主播 Elizabeth，感謝你的收看。

What do you think the best fix is for income inequality? Let us know in the comments section. And leave us any other ideas there too. See you later!

你覺得解決收入不平等最好的方法是什麼？在留言區留言讓我們知道，也歡迎提出其他想法和我們一起討論，下次見！