Norwegian MP Erlend Svardal Bøe warns youth exclusion outweighs unemployment

Erlend Svardal Bøe, a Conservative Party (Høyre) MP from Troms and deputy chair of the Storting’s Health and Care Committee, said the greatest threat to young people in Norway is social exclusion, not lack of jobs. He argued that youth unemployment is high but the real problem is the growing number of youths falling out of both school and work.

Bøe criticised the Labour Party’s opposition to the government’s proposals to make it easier for young people to enter the labour market, such as extending work‑time regulations for youths and allowing 16‑year‑olds to serve beer under adult supervision. He cited McDonald’s as a major employer of first‑time teenage workers and called for policies that lower barriers to employment rather than further restrict opportunities.