Across the globe, the economic crisis has led to soaring youth unemployment -- above 50 percent in Spain, nearly that high in Greece and above 30 percent in many other countries. The crisis also has exacerbated already-high levels of youth unemployment in the Middle East and North Africa, where frustrated, unemployed college graduates were at the forefront of last year's Arab Spring revolutions. Angry, jobless youths have taken to the streets in other countries, as well, including the U.K. Countries are grappling with the problem, but solutions remain elusive. Youth unemployment is seen both as a matter of demographics -- disproportionately higher numbers of young people in many countries -- and structural problems in labor markets, such as laws protecting older workers' jobs. Many observers believe if the issue isn't addressed, further upheavals will occur, while others worry that the world could be facing a "lost generation" of discouraged workers whose earnings will be diminished for decades.

Reed Karaim, a freelance writer living in Tuscon, Arizona, has written for The Washington Post, U.S. News and World Report, Smithsonian, American Scholar, USA Weekend and other publications. He is the author of the novel, If Men Were Angels, which was selected for the Barnes and Noble Discover Great New Writers series. He is also the winner of the Robin Goldstein Award for Outstanding Regional Reporting and other journalism awards. Karaim is a graduate of North Dakota State University in Fargo, North Dakota.