Persistent unemployment since the mid-1970s has resulted in difficulties in accessing employment. Young people are the most affected and their integration into the labour market has become slower and more difficult. During the first years following the end of their studies, they are more often unemployed than those who have spent longer in the labour market. However, after ten years, their employment rate reaches that of older generations. When young workers do have a job, it is most often temporary or of a low grade, and, although they have equivalent qualifications, they earn less than older workers. However, they left education increasingly qualified, at least until the mid-1990s. Despite the different employment policy measures taken by public authorities, young people are the most affected by economic fluctuations. They are also used to diffuse new, more flexible employment standards, which progress through the labour market via the influxes of new recruits.