Pandemic and duration of youth unemployment in Cali

Abstract

The health crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic has had serious implications on labor dynamics, both nationally and locally, with young people principally being affected. Using official and primary data, this article explores the behavior of youth unemployment in the city of Cali during the pandemic. Through the estimation of parametric and non-parametric models, our results show that the time it takes young people to exit unemployment would have doubled, evidencing a lower probability of employment among young women. Finally, we suggest the need to design specific public policy instruments that recognize these structural problems.