This paper has the objective of presenting recent empiric elements about the insertion of young people in the labor market. We begin with the transition between school and work for the ample contingent of individuals from 6 to 25 years. As the 18 year-old age characterizes a natural limit from which work is more important than school, we examine the insertion changes in the young people labor market from 18 to 25 years between 1996 and 2005, what evidences their particularly vulnerable situation in a framework of structural changes, that affect all workers. Considering the low qualification of 30% of those young people, that didn't complete the elementary school, measures of public policy aimed at the drastic reduction of their education deficit are configured as the most effective form of reducing young people vulnerability and to improve the conditions of their insertion in the labor market.
work; young people; qualification; activity
