A weak economy and high unemployment has forced Latvians create their own opportunities

In a country that was one of the hardest hit by the global recession, some young people say that has devastated economy, a glimmer of hope: the freedom to invent a life n ' would never have been worth it for the download time.

growing startup is not just for Silicon Valley and New York. Here in the Baltic nation of Latvia chance, young entrepreneurs, free of the constant prospect of working nine to five job, the parent companies from manufacturing of high-end bikes that aspire to be the next Skype, which began in neighboring Estonia.

With youth unemployment in the EU of 23% and above 50% in Greece and Spain, these twentysomethings say that the crisis was good for them, despite the economic pain that accompanied. Presidents and Prime Ministers have met a crisis meeting, international organizations have called for extraordinary measures to stimulate hiring and a whole generation has been forced to adjust their aspirations.

last year kanepe Davis, 28, took matters into their own hands in Riga. Is rented ruined school building on a corner Italian music down-on-his-heels at the center of the city, with some friends, he became a bar and a cultural center.

"Of course, it is difficult, and not work eight hours a day, but you have to work 14 hours a day," said kanepe a recent afternoon at his club, where people wore hand elegant-me-down sweaters and cups smoked black plastic frame and drank bottles of Belgian beers low tables.

"But if you start working when you are 19," like many Latvians in the boom years before the fall of 2008, "has not had time to think about what their real goals are "kanepe said. Those who had to push a steady job because of the bad economy had more time to decide what they want to do, he said. "We who are under 30 understand much better."

In this country of 2.2 million nestled on the shores of the Baltic Sea, some young fit for small businesses that blur the distinction between work and personal life, where it is not necessary to go to an office. Many say they would otherwise. If life is more precarious, they say, it is also more exciting.

A similar movement is underway in Europe and the United States, where the growing communities of small start-ups attract people who, before the crisis of 2008, went to work for a bank to investment and consulting company. Internet commerce allows creative types to sell services and products to destinations outside of the house. This gives an advantage to countries like Latvia, where the cost of living is low, so it is easier to make profits.

"If you have a hobby that you enjoy doing and want to do it as a living being, is very relaxed here," said Jurga Pupstyte, 32, who worked for an international bank in Riga but leave to get a master's degree in cultural anthropology. She held company kanepe a recent afternoon while selling baskets of fresh strawberries in the street outside his club.

analysts warn that the change in work habits is not enough to put a major dent in youth unemployment. Credit, which is crucial for launching businesses still choked tight. For each new business that thrives in sustainability, many more are doomed to failure. And in an economy where most people are employed, access to health care and decent retirement is becoming more exclusive, while social safety nets tend to be more generous than in European countries United States. UU ..

"There is no miracle" to the problem of youth unemployment solution, said Stefano Scarpetta, Head of Employment, Labour and Social Affairs of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Economic Development, a group of the world economy. Last month, the OECD published a study in which he called on the EU to adopt measures to fight against unemployment, the removal of protective barriers around industries, encourage banks to lend more to companies that deserve and subsidies for employers to hire new workers.

"It gave me the freedom to think a little wider," he said.
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