Europaudvalget 2018
KOM (2018) 0269
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EUROPEAN
COMMISSION
Brussels, 22.5.2018
SWD(2018) 169 final
PART 3/7
COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT
Situation of young people in the European Union
Accompanying the document
COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN
PARLIAMENT, THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE
REGIONS
Engaging, Connecting and Empowering young people: a new EU Youth Strategy
{COM(2018) 269 final} - {SWD(2018) 168 final}
EN
EN
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3. Employment and Entrepreneurship
EU youth indicators
Youth unemployment rate and unemployment ratio (15-24 year-olds)
Long-term youth unemployment rate (15-24 year-olds)
Young employees aged 20-29 with a temporary contract
Self-employment rate among young people aged 20-29
Young people aged 18-34 who would like to set up their own business
Figure 3-D
Figure 3-H
Figure 3-O
Figure 3-U
Figure 3-V
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3.1. INTRODUCTION
One of the major challenges for young people in establishing their independence is finding a stable job and
remaining in employment. The recent economic recession resulted in a reduced demand for young workers,
which has hindered their chances of successfully moving from school to work (
1
). Although the European
economy and the opportunities in the labour markets are improving, it is important to understand how
unemployment is affecting young people and what kinds of work opportunities are available to them.
This chapter sets the scene by describing the transition(s) from education to employment that young people face.
The proportion of young people in education and training is an essential parameter when analysing youth
employment as it affects the size of the labour force, the calculation of unemployment rates, and the prevalence
of part-time or atypical hourly employment. The first part of the chapter discusses the youth unemployment
phenomenon and the relevant indicators for its assessment. The second part sheds some light on the types of
jobs young people have.
The chapter is built around the relevant EU youth indicators and the age groups on which they focus. At the
country level, the discussion of youth unemployment mostly relates to the 15-24 age group, while the
employment patterns mostly address people aged 20-29. At the EU-28 level, the youth data is generally broken
down into three age groups (15-19; 20-24 and 25-29). In order to draw attention to the issues specific to the
youth population, a comparison with the prime working age group (people aged 25-54)
–
the group with the
highest labour force participation
–
is provided throughout the chapter.
In order to discuss the developments over time, some of the indicators show the situation in the EU-28 before
the start of the economic recession (ten years ago, namely 2007) and during the height of the great recession
(2013). At the country level, several indicators display the recent changes pointing to a gradual economic
recovery (since 2013) (
2
).
3.2. ENTERING THE WORLD OF WORK
The transition from education to employment is rarely a smooth and clear-cut event, it is often a rather complex
and protracted process with steps forward and back, interruptions and periods of overlap between these types of
activity. The traditional model of transition, when a young person finds his/her first job directly after graduation
and embarks on a stable career path, is becoming far less common in our rapidly changing and global world.
Many young people start working part-time or have summer jobs while still studying; many young people start
on temporary or fixed-term contracts followed by some spells of job-hunting in-between. Some young people
return to finish their studies after a period of employment in order to upgrade their skills or qualifications. When
searching for the right job, some young people discover they want a complete change from their original field of
study or career and they return to education in a different area (
3
).
Figure 3-A provides a breakdown of the EU-28 15-34 year-old population by education and labour market
status. The blue shades indicate those still in some form of education/training, while the pink shades indicate
(
1
)
(
2
)
(
3
)
Eurofound, 2014.
Recent economic forecast indicate that European economies are expected to grow in 2017 and in 2018. For a detailed discussion,
see European Commission (2017b).
See more in: Eurofound, 2014; Kahn, 2011; Mourshed, Patel and Suder, 2014; O'Reilly 2015; STYLE, 2017.
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those outside
the colour intensity distinguishes the labour market status (unemployed, employed or not in the
labour market).
Figure 3-A:
Structure of the youth population by education and labour market status, EU-28 average, 2016
Definitions:
The Figure counts all those
who state they have been in formal
education or training during the previous
four weeks as being in education, and
does not include people who participated
exclusively in non-formal training sessions
such as attending a course, a seminar or
taking private lessons.
An employed person is a person who
during the reference week performed
work
–
even if just for one hour a week
–
for
pay,
profit
or
family
gain.
Alternatively, the person was not at work,
but had a job or business from which he
or she was temporarily absent due to
illness, holiday, industrial dispute or
education and training.
The same activity may count as both
education and employment e.g. most
formal apprenticeships in secondary
education, paid traineeships, or specific
vocational training phases integrated into
tertiary education study programmes.
Source:
Eurostat (LFS, 2016), based on a
special calculation, data extracted June
2017
In the EU, virtually all 15-year olds are still in education as full-time education/training is compulsory until the
age of 15-16 in most European education systems (
4
). Afterwards, many remain in upper secondary education,
which usually continues until the age of 18-19 (
5
). The proportion of people in education gradually decreases
with each year of age, while the proportion of young people in the labour market gradually increases.
Some young people may have periods when they are in education and the labour market at the same time. Some
are principally students and work only for a few hours a week (
6
) or in the summer vacations, others are
principally employees and spend only a few hours in education, for example in professional training or evening
studies (
7
). The proportion of people who combine work with studies is the highest (around 18 %) at age 20-22
and gradually flattens out to approximately 10 % at the age of 34 (
8
). The proportion of people who are studying
and seeking employment is highest at ages 18-21 (around 3 %).
On average, in the EU-28, the turning point for young people is at
age 22 when they move on from studying to starting work or searching
Age 22 is the turning point when more
for a job. At this age, for the first time there are more young people in
young people are in the labour market
the labour market than in education. Moreover, at the age of 22, the
than in education.
proportion of those employed and not studying at all is already higher than the proportion of those that combine
their studies with work. With each subsequent year of age, the proportion of young people in employment
(
4
)
(
5
)
(
6
)
(
7
)
(
8
)
European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice, 2016a.
European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice, 2016b.
Hauschildt et al., 2015.
Eurostat, 2017c.
Similar rates of people that combine studies and work remain in adult population. Participation rate in education and training (last
4 weeks) of employed persons aged 25 to 64 was 11.6 % in 2016 (See Eurostat, 'Participation rate in education and training (last
4 weeks) by sex and labour status', online data code: trng_lfse_02. Data extracted on 11/07/2017).
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increases rapidly. At the age of 29, almost two thirds of young people are only in employment, they are not
students or apprentices. Including those that are working and studying, the employment rate of 29 year-olds
reaches 76.6 %. In contrast, at the age of 29, the proportion of students drops to 16.2 %, of which only 3.4 % are
neither working nor actively seek employment.
It is important to note that some young people leave education and stay outside the labour market, i.e. they are
not seeking work. The proportion of young people who are 'not students or apprentices, nor in the labour market'
as labelled in Figure 3-A, sharply increases at age 17-18. The proportion of those people who are out of
education and out of the labour market flattens off at around 12-13 % between the ages of 30-34 (
9
).
The patterns of transition from education to the labour market vary considerably between EU countries. Young
people's routes into employment differ depending on the flexibility and
structure of their country’s labour
market (e.g. the availability of part-time and student jobs, formal apprenticeship schemes, etc.), the national
system of education and training as well as cultural factors (
10
).
The transition from education to employment is clearly
reflected in the size of the labour force by age (Figure 3-B).
Labour force participation rates indicate the proportion of
those available for work compared with the total population
in a certain age range. It includes both the employed and the
unemployed irrespective of their education status. The
remaining 'economically inactive' population (
11
) are those
who do not work because they are studying or unpaid carers
(have family responsibilities); or because they are sick,
disabled or retired; or because they have either become
'discouraged' job seekers (
12
) or do not want to work; or
lastly, have not been active enough in their job-searching to
qualify as unemployed.
Figure 3-B:
Youth labour force participation
rates (15-29 year-olds) compared with the
'prime' working age group (24-54 year-olds),
EU-28 average, 2016
%
%
Figure 3-B shows that only one in five people aged 15 to 19
Age
15-19
20-24
25-29
25-54
Age
Source:
Calculations based on Eurostat LFS [lfsa_pganws]
are available for work (20.3 %). A large proportion of the
Data extracted on 29/05/2017.
youngest cohort of the working age population consists of
people who are still in school, college, university, or other higher education or training establishment. In the
EU-28, the employment rate of the youngest age group (15-19) is a mere 15.7 %. Moreover, the majority of
15-19 year-olds who work also study
11.4 % are both employed and in education (
13
); half of those employed
work only part-time (Figure 3-P). The proportion available for work is considerably higher amongst 20-24 year-
olds: three in five are in the labour force (61.4 %). In this age group, every second person is already working.
Among 20-24 year-olds, the proportion of people combining work and study reaches 13.4 % (
14
). Finally, the
labour force participation rates of young people aged 25 to 29 (82.5 %) come very close to the economic activity
(
9
)
(
10
)
(
11
)
(
12
)
(
13
)
(
14
)
These form part of the NEET group ('not in employment, education or training') and is discussed in greater detail in chapter 5.
Eurostat, 2017c.
See Eurostat, 2017d.
Discouraged job seekers: persons who would like to find a job, but have given up looking for one because they do not believe there
are any jobs available (OECD, 2017).
Eurostat, 'Participation rate of young people in formal education by sex, age and labour status', online data code: edat_lfse_19. Data
extracted on 08/09/2017.
Ibid.
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rates of those aged 25-54 (85.5 %). The employment rate of people aged 25 to 29 reaches 73.2 %. Only 6.7 % of
25-29 year olds are both employed and in education (
15
).
3.3. FACING THE LABOUR MARKET CHALLENGES: UNEMPLOYMENT
Youth unemployment rates and ratios
Entering the world of work after graduation poses significant challenges. Many young people encounter the gap
between education and 'real life' and get caught in a vicious cycle of being unable to obtain a job due to lack of
experience, and being unable to gain experience without a job (
16
). Those who leave education without formal
qualifications and with low-level skills have even less chance of gaining employment.
Figure 3-C:
Unemployment rates and ratios
among young people (15-29 year-olds)
compared to the 'prime' working age group
(24-54 year-olds), EU-28 average, 2016
%
%
In the EU-28 in 2016, 4.2 million people between the ages
of 15 and 24 were unemployed (Figure 3-C). This Figure
includes all people who are available for work and actively
job-seeking, irrespective of their education status.
However, the numbers of those in education become very
important when considering the youth unemployment rate
–
the most common measure of youth labour market
conditions.
Unemployme nt rate
�½
Number of unemployed
x
100 %
Number of employed
unemployed
Number of unemployed
x
100 %
Total population
Unemployme nt ratio
�½
The
unemployment rate
is calculated as the number of
unemployed individuals (i.e. those available and actively
Note:
The numbers of unemployed in millions are indicated
looking for work but not able find a job) divided by the
below the age groups.
Source:
Eurostat LFS [yth_empl_090] and calculations
number of persons in the labour force, multiplied by
based on Eurostat LFS [lfsa_pganws]
100 %. The unemployment rate does not consider the
Data extracted on 23/05/2017.
economic inactive, who are not actively looking for a job,
because of different reasons as discussed above. The unemployment rate does not indicate the percentage of a
certain age population that is unemployed, as not the whole age population is participating in the labour force.
When considering the prime working age group (people aged 25-54), the labour force is close to the total
population, and therefore the unemployment rate does not differ much from the unemployment-to-population
ratio (Figure 3-C). However, as many young people are still studying in their early twenties and therefore are
not yet in the labour force, the statistics differ greatly.
Age
No.
15-19
1.2 m
20-24
3.0 m
25-29
2.9 m
25-54
14.1 m
Age
N
Relatively small numbers of unemployed people can generate high
unemployment rates when divided by a small labour force. Therefore, it is
sometimes useful to consider the youth
unemployment ratio
statistics:
the percentage of unemployed young people compared to the total
(
15
) Ibid.
(
16
) Kahn et al., 2011.
The proportion of people that
unsuccessfully search for a job is the
highest among 20-24 year-olds.
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population of that age group (not only the economically active, but also the inactive such as students).
The unemployment rate and ratio are depicted side by side graphically in Figure 3-C. Both statistics reflect the
same numbers of unemployed (indicated in the Figure below the age groups), but display considerably different
distributions. When considering the unemployment-to-labour force indicator (unemployment rate), the younger
age groups seem to be the most affected. In contrast, the unemployment-to-population indicator (unemployment
ratio) shows that the problem is the worst for the 20-24 age group and, to a lesser extent, for the 25-29 age
group.
In order to get a full grasp of the unemployment
phenomenon, both the unemployment rate and
ratio are included among the EU youth
indicators. Figure 3-D shows unemployment
rates and ratios in European countries. The
number of unemployed in thousands is indicated
in the middle. This figure largely depends on the
country's youth population and varies from
almost 1 million unemployed 15-24 year-olds in
Turkey and 600 000-700 000 in Spain, France,
Italy and the United Kingdom, to 2 000-4 000 in
Malta, Luxembourg and Iceland.
In 2016, the highest proportion (around 15 %) of
young population (15-24) was searching for a
job in Spain (656 100) and the former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia (41 500). The
unemployment ratios were also high in Greece,
Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Finland and Sweden (10-
12 %). In contrast, the lowest unemployment
ratios (3-4 %) were in Bulgaria, Czech Republic,
Germany and Hungary.
The youth unemployment rates vary between
European countries to a much greater degree
than unemployment ratios as they are calculated
taking into account the proportion of employed
Note:
the numbers of unemployed in thousands are indicated in the
middle.
15-24 year-olds. The labour force participation
Source:
Eurostat LFS [yth_empl_090] and [yth_empl_140]
rates of this age group vary from less than 30 %
Data extracted on 21/07/2017.
in Belgium, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy and Romania to more than 66 % in Denmark, the Netherlands and
Iceland (
17
). As discussed earlier, the size of the labour force depends on the proportion of young people that are
inactive, namely those in education (chapter 2), those engaged in unpaid caring activities, or the sick, disabled,
or discouraged workers (chapter 5).
As discussed previously, the unemployment rate and ratio differ the least when labour force participation is
high. For example, the 10.4 % youth unemployment ratio results in a 18.9 % unemployment rate in Sweden,
(
17
)
Eurostat, 'Activity rates by sex, age and citizenship (%)', online data code: lfsa_argan. Data extracted on 25/07/2017.
EU youth indicator
Figure 3-D:
Youth unemployment rate (15-24 year-olds)
and unemployment ratio, by country, 2016
Unemployment rate
Number
Unemployment ratio
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where the labour force participation of young people is relatively high (54.8 %). In contrast, a similar
unemployment ratio (10.0 %) in Italy, where economic activity rates are considerably lower (26.6 %), generates
a much higher unemployment rate (37.8 %) (
18
).
Low activity rates amongst young people between the ages of 15 and
Fifteen per cent of young people (aged
24 are found in several countries in southern and eastern Europe (e.g.
15-24) are searching for a job in Spain
Spain, Italy, Portugal, Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania) (
19
). For these
and the former Yugoslav Republic of
same countries, data presented in Chapter 2 report lower rates of
Macedonia.
participation in education and higher proportions of young people
leaving formal education before having achieved an upper-secondary
The rates of young jobless among those
degree (Figures 2-A, 2-C and 2-E). This hints at the existence of large
available for work are also high in
segments of young people who are not employed, not in education and
Greece and Italy.
not in training (NEETs), and who are particularly vulnerable to the risk of social exclusion. This will be
analysed in detail in Chapter 5.
The highest rates of young people (aged 15-24) searching for a job among those available for a work (e.g.
unemployment rates) were observed in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (48.2 %) (
20
), Greece
(47.3 %), Spain (44.4 %) and Italy (37.8 %). The unemployment rates of people aged 15-24 were also high (25-
31 %) in France, Croatia, Cyprus and Portugal. Most of these countries record high rates of jobless people in the
prime working age group (25-54 year-olds). In contrast, few of the young people available for work (about 7 %)
had problems finding a job in Germany and Iceland. The youth unemployment rates were also rather low
(approximately 11 %) in Czech Republic, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria and Norway.
The level of youth unemployment shows the
state of the youth job market, but also reflects
the general economic situation. When the
economy is in recession, the number of
%
%
jobless people rises. When the economy is
growing, jobs are created and the number of
people who cannot find work falls. Figure 3-
E shows unemployment rates and ratios for
young people aged 15-24 and the prime
working age group (24-54) from 2007 to
2016. The EU-28 economies started
shrinking after the 2007 economic recession
and the numbers of jobless young people and
adults were rising between 2009 and 2013.
After economic growth resumed, the
Source:
Calculations based on Eurostat LFS [lfsa_pganws].
numbers of people unsuccessfully searching
Data extracted on 29/05/2017.
for jobs have been falling since 2013. The
changes in the proportion of unemployed among youth and prime working age populations (unemployment
ratios) were similar (see the dashed lines in Figure 3-E that rise and fall in parallel). Between 2007 and 2013, the
Figure 3-E:
Youth unemployment rates (15-24 year-olds),
compared with prime working age group (25-54 year-olds),
EU-28 average, 2007-2016
(
18
)
(
19
)
(
20
)
Ibid.
Ibid.
In the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, this very high proportion of young unemployed people is actually falling after
reaching its peak in 2003, when the rate was 65.8 %. See FRED, 2017.
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proportion of people looking for work increased by 3.1 percentage
points among young people and by 3.2 percentage points among adults
of prime working age.
From 2013 to 2016, the youth unemployment ratio fell by
2.2 percentage points and the adult unemployment ratio decreased by
1.8 percentage points. In 2016, the proportions of jobless people in
both youth and adult populations were even closer than they had been
before the economic recession started in 2007.
In 2016 there were
4.2 million
unemployed people aged 15-24 in the
EU.
Youth unemployment rates recently
decreased in the majority of European
countries. Since 2013, there are
1.3 million
fewer jobless young people
in the EU.
However, when the number of unemployed is expressed in relation to
the labour force (unemployment rates), the impact of the economic crisis seems to be more severe on the youth
population than on the prime working age population. The proportion of employed people aged 15-24 is much
lower than in the 25-54 age group and therefore the increase in the proportion of unemployed people among
those who are available for work is much higher.
Figure 3-F shows the changes in youth unemployment rates during the last three years by country. The recent
changes in youth unemployment rates follow the economic recovery in most European countries. Since 2013,
when the youth unemployment rate in EU-28 reached its highest level (23.6 %), the numbers of young people
unsuccessfully searching for work have been falling in most European countries. On average, in the EU-28, the
youth unemployment rate in 2016 was 4.6 percentage points lower than in 2013. The decrease was especially
pronounced (more than 10 percentage points) in several southern and central European countries, namely
Bulgaria, Greece, Spain, Croatia, Hungary, Portugal and Slovakia. Many eastern/central European countries
(Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Slovenia), as well as Ireland, Cyprus and the United
Kingdom, have registered a 5 to 10 percentage point decrease in youth unemployment rates in recent years.
Figure 3-F:
Changes in unemployment rates among young people aged 15-24, by country, 2013-2016
Large decrease (below -10 p.p.)
Moderate decrease (between -5 and -10 p.p.)
Small decrease (between -1 and -5 p.p.)
No change (less than 1 p.p. difference)
Small increase (between 2 and 3 p.p.)
Data not available/not collected
Source:
Eurostat LFS [lfsa_urgan], data extracted on 26/07/2017.
Notes:
Break in time series in Denmark, France, Luxembourg and Turkey.
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The numbers of jobless young people remained similar between 2013 and 2016 in Germany, France and
Finland. However, of these three countries, youth unemployment rates are low only in Germany. In France and
Finland, youth unemployment rates are currently higher than the EU-28 average.
Although there was a slight increase, youth unemployment rates remained low in Austria and Norway (11 %).
In contrast, in Luxembourg and Turkey, the recent slight increase brought youth unemployment rates to almost
20 %.
Compared with the situation before the economic recession, in 2007, youth unemployment rates are still higher
on average in the EU-28 as well as in more than a half of European countries. The proportion of young people
available for work and unable to find a job returned to pre-recession figures or even less in Czech Republic,
Germany, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Romania, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Iceland. In contrast, in the
Southern European countries that were severely affected by the European debt crisis (Greece, Spain, Italy,
Cyprus and Portugal) youth unemployment rates are still more than 10 percentage points higher than before the
recession (
21
).
Long-term youth unemployment
Unemployment brings serious hardships to individuals and
their families. The problems and difficulties reach beyond
the
challenging
financial
situation.
Long-term
unemployment, especially for young people, leaves lifelong
effects. Young people who have been looking for a job
over long period of time are more likely to experience
precarious employment, future periods of unemployment
and lower job satisfaction, as well as having poorer health
and sense of well-being more than 20 years later (
22
).
Young persons are particularly affected by long periods of
job-seeking (
23
). Prolonged periods without structured daily
activity lead to feelings of uselessness and hopelessness;
the lack of job identification also raises identity issues (
24
).
Moreover, the lack of meaningful activity is associated
with increased alcohol and drug addiction as well as
criminal behaviour (
25
). For societies, high levels of long-
term youth unemployment carry significant financial costs
as well as increasing the risk of social unrest (
26
).
Figure 3-G:
Long-term unemployment for
young people aged 15-29 as a percentage of
total unemployment, compared with the 'prime'
working age (24-54 years) group, EU-28
average, 2016
%
%
Age
Source:
15-19
Eurostat
20-24
LFS
25-29
25-54
data extracted
Age
on
[lfsa_upgan],
24/07/2017
Eurostat defines the long-term unemployed as people who are out of work who have been actively seeking
employment for at least a year. Figure 3-G shows that, on average, in the EU-28, the long-time unemployed as a
proportion of the total unemployed grows with each age group. When young people first enter the labour
market, they are less likely to be looking for a job for as long as older age groups. Only 17.9 % of unemployed
(
21
)
(
22
)
(
23
)
(
24
)
(
25
)
(
26
)
Eurostat, 'Unemployment rates by sex, age and nationality (%)', online data code: lfsa_urgan. Data extracted on 25/07/2017.
Bell and Blanchflower, 2011.
Lahusen and Giugni, 2016.
Farré, Fasani, and Mueller, 2015.
European Youth Forum, 2013.
Ibid.
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15-19 year-olds were searching for a job for longer than a year. The proportion is higher for 20-24 year-olds, at
34.1 %, while for 25-29 year-olds, 40.2 % had no success within a year. The problem is even more pronounced
in the prime working age group (25-54), where approximately every other unemployed person (49.1 %) is
jobless for more than a year.
The long-term youth unemployment rate for 15-24 year-olds is included among the EU youth indicators. The
long-term youth unemployment rate is expressed as the number of persons aged 15-24 unemployed for 12
months or longer as a percentage of the labour force (i.e. employed and unemployed). Figure 3-H shows that, in
2016, on average, in EU-28, the long-term unemployed constituted 5.4 % of the youth labour force. The
proportion was especially high in the southern European countries that were severely affected by the recent
economic crisis. In the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the long-term youth unemployment rate was
32.7 %, in Greece it was 25.1 %, and in Italy 19.4 %. However, it was lower in Slovakia, Croatia and Spain
between 11 and 13 %, and in Bulgaria, Portugal and Romania it was 8-9 %.
Compared with 2013, long-term youth unemployment decreased in the majority of European countries. In the
EU-28, on average, it was 2.6 percentage points lower in 2016 than in 2013. The proportion of young people
who took longer than 12 months to find a job fell especially sharply during these years in Cyprus, Spain,
Slovakia and Croatia.
Figure 3-H:
Long-term youth unemployment rates (15-24 year-olds), by country, 2016 and 2013
%
%
EU youth indicator
Notes:
Data for Estonia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta and Finland (2013) have low reliability.
Source:
Eurostat LFS [yth_empl_120], data extracted on 28/09/2017.
Continuous job searching requires a high level of resilience, confidence and resourcefulness. With each
rejection letter, with each failure to secure an interview it is increasingly difficult to keep on looking. Therefore,
many people who have struggled to get a job eventually stop looking and drop out of the labour force altogether.
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Youth unemployment and educational attainment
A good level of education and relevant qualifica-
tions are critical in finding employment as they
provide young people with the appropriate skills
needed in rapidly changing modern economies.
Figure 3-I:
Youth unemployment rate (15-29 year-olds)
by the highest educational level attained compared with
the prime working age group (25-54 year-olds), EU-28
average, 2007-2016
Figure 3-I shows that the higher the educational
level, the lower the unemployment rates. In the
EU-28, the least educated have very high
unemployment rates among both the youth and
adult populations. On average, in the EU-28, the
unemployment rate of those with lower
secondary education/qualifications or less
(ISCED levels 0-2) was twice as high as that of
tertiary graduates (ISCED levels 5-8) in the 15-
24 age group, and three times higher than in the
Note:
Age groups 15-19 and 20-24 were merged as data for ISCED 5-8
older age groups (25-29 and 25-54). The
are unreliable in the age group 15-19.
unemployment rates among those with upper
Source:
Calculations based on Eurostat LFS [lfsa_urgaed], data extracted
on 29/05/2017
secondary and post-secondary non-tertiary
education (ISCED levels 3 and 4) are closer to those of tertiary graduates, the difference between all the age
groups under consideration ranges between 2 and 3 percentage points.
In Europe, there is a considerable variation in unemployment rates by educational attainment across countries
(Figure 3-J). Educational attainment is most effective in minimising the risk of unemployment in central
European countries (Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Austria and Slovakia,), as well as in Bulgaria, Ireland,
Malta and Sweden. In these countries, the unemployment rate of those with low levels of education is four or
more times higher than that of tertiary graduates. The situation is different in southern countries (Greece, Spain,
Italy, Portugal and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia), where the unemployment rates of people aged
20-29 are high among those with both low-level and high-level qualifications. In Denmark and Romania, the
unemployment rates are similar across all educational attainment groups and vary between 8 % and 14 %. As
institutional and economic features intrinsic to every country heavily impact upon the chances of young
graduates entering the labour market, the positive influence of higher education appears to be somewhat diluted
in those systems where structural obstacles exist in the economic and business environment (
27
).
In two countries (Cyprus and Turkey), the pattern is reversed, namely the unemployment rate of those with low
levels of education is lower than that of tertiary graduates. In Cyprus, where 46.9 % of young people aged 20-29
have tertiary level education, this might be an effect of over-education, namely, a discrepancy between the
supply of education and the needs of the economy (
28
). In Turkey, a higher incidence of unemployment among
tertiary educated young people may be related to the fact that they are the ones who can afford to search for a
job in the formal economy, while many unskilled young people are often employed in the informal sector in
low-paid, irregular and insecure jobs (
29
).
(
27
)
(
28
)
(
29
)
Dietrich and Möller, 2015.
Ioannou and Sonan, 2016.
Scarpetta and Sonnet, 2012.
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Figure 3-J:
Comparison of youth unemployment rates among 20-29 year-olds with low and high levels of
education, by country, 2016
Unemployment rate of those with low levels of
education is four or more times higher than
for those with tertiary-level education
Unemployment rate of those with low levels of
education is two to three times higher than
for those with tertiary-level education
Unemployment rate of those with low levels of
education is higher than
for those with tertiary-level education,
but less than twice as high
Unemployment rate of those with low levels of
education is lower than
for those with tertiary-level education
Data not available/not collected
Source:
Eurostat LFS [yth_empl_090], data extracted
on 05/09/2017
Notes:
'Low levels of education' means lower secondary education or below (ISCED levels 0-2) and 'high levels of education' means tertiary
education (levels 5-8).
Low reliability: Estonia, Croatia, Cyprus, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Slovenia, Iceland and Montenegro.
Men are more vulnerable to youth unemployment than women
On average, in the EU-28, young males seem to be more affected by unemployment than young females. In
2016, in absolute numbers, there were more men than women unsuccessfully searching for work in all the age
groups shown in Figure 3-K. Considering the unemployed-to-population ratio, male unemployment was higher
in all the age groups analysed, the difference being the greatest among those aged 20 to 24. In the EU-28, in
2016, there were 369 200 more jobless 20-24 year-old men than women. In this age group, males constituted
56.1 % of the unemployed. The data from the last 10 years reveals that the pattern is stable over time. Male
unemployment ratios were higher than female unemployment ratios for 15-29 year-olds in every year of the last
decade (
30
). Looking at the absolute numbers, in the EU-28, there were more young men than women searching
for a job in every year and in every youth age group analysed (
31
).
The fact that men constitute the majority of young unemployed people
aged 15-24 is true for most European countries (
32
). The only country
where, in 2016, there were more young females than males among the
unemployed is Cyprus.
In the EU-28, in 2016, there were
700 000 more jobless young men than
women (15-29 year-olds).
When the size of the labour force is taken into account, the situation reverses for the older age groups. Female
unemployment rates are higher in the 25-29 age group as well as in the prime working age group (25-54). In
both these age groups, women often leave the labour force due to family and caring responsibilities (
33
) and
therefore the proportion of women who are available for work is reduced. Therefore, the relative proportion of
women who cannot find a job among those women who are available for work becomes higher.
(
30
)
(
31
)
(
32
)
(
33
)
Calculations based on Eurostat, 'Population by sex, age, citizenship and labour status (1 000)', online data code: lfsa_pganws. Data
extracted on 27/07/2017.
Ibid.
Ibid.
Eurostat, 2017d.
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When taking into account participation in the labour market, male unemployment rates are still higher in most
European countries (Figure 3-L). However, unemployment rates for young women are more than one
percentage point higher than for young men in eight countries (Czech Republic, Greece, Italy, Cyprus, Portugal,
Romania, Slovakia and Turkey). In all of these countries, labour force participation among young women was
lower than the EU-28 average and is often significantly below the participation rates for young men (
34
).
For more information on factors influencing youth unemployment such as migrant background, health status
(including disabilities), work opportunities in the area of residence, etc., see STYLE (2017).
Figure 3-K:
Differences between male and
female unemployment rates and ratios for young
people (15-29 year-olds) compared to the 'prime'
age group (25-54 year-olds), EU-28 average,
2016
Figure 3-L:
Differences between male and female
unemployment rates, young people age 15-24, by
country, 2016
Males
Females
ΔN
Age
ΔN
15-19
161.8
20-24
369.2
25-29
162.4
25-54
228.2
Note:
ΔN:
The difference in the numbers of unemployed in
thousands is indicated below the age groups (positive = males
more affected).
Source:
Calculations based on Eurostat LFS [lfsa_pganws],
data extracted on 27/07/2017.
Age
ΔN
Note:
ΔN: The difference in the numbers of unemployed in
thousands is indicated in the middle (positive = males more
affected).
Lithuania: Female estimates low reliability.
Source:
Calculations based on Eurostat LFS [yth_empl_100],
data extracted on 04/09/2017
(
34
)
Calculations based on Eurostat, 'Activity rates by sex, age and citizenship (%)', online data code: lfsa_argan. Data extracted on
25/07/2017.
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3
3.4. PATTERNS OF YOUTH EMPLOYMENT
Employment rat es
The employment rate is one of the key indicators when studying the
labour markets. There is a strong relationship between the general
Employment rates of young people
situation in the labour market and the employment rates of young
usually mirror those of the working age
people (
35
). Figure 3-M shows that the majority of European countries
population.
fall into two categories: countries where employment rates are high in both the youth and prime working age
groups and countries where the rates are low in both age groups.
The situation in the labour market is still difficult for both younger and older age groups in some of the
European countries that were greatly affected by the recent recession. In Bulgaria, Ireland, Greece, Spain,
Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Romania and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the employment rates of both
the youth and
working
Figure 3-M:
Country distribution of employment rates for young people (15-24 years)
prime
age populations
and 'prime' working age (25-54 years) group, 2016
are lower than the
EU-28 average. In
contrast,
the
proportion of both
groups is high in
the Scandinavian
countries, as well
as in Germany,
Estonia,
the
Netherlands,
Austria and the
United Kingdom.
Several European
countries
have
high employment
rates in the prime
Source:
Eurostat LFS [lfsi_emp_a], data extracted on 11/09/2017
working
age
population (ranging from 79.1 % to 85.7 %), but the proportion of young people at work is lower than the EU
average (ranging from 22.7 % to 32.8 %). In Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg,
Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia and Slovakia the labour markets are considerably less favourable to young
people than to the prime working age group. In most of these countries, part-time work, which attracts young
people (Figure 3-R), is not widespread (
36
).
(
35
)
(
36
)
For the European countries analysed, the correlation between the employment rates of both the prime working age group (25-54
years) and the youth group (15-24 years) stood at 0.6. The 15-24 age group is used in the Figure 3-P in order to clearly distinguish
between the youth and prime working age populations.
See Eurostat, 'Part-time employment and temporary contracts
–
annual data', online data code: lfsi_pt_a. Data extracted on
11/09/2017.
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Although the youth employment rates mirror those of the prime working age, there are some essential
differences. Jobs for young people are not evenly spread across all sectors and occupations (
37
). On average, in
the EU-28, young people (aged 15-24) constitute approximately 8 % of all those employed. However, employed
youth are more likely to be found in fast food restaurants, grocery stores, or hotel receptions than in public
administration offices or educational institutions. In EU-28, on average, 20.1 % of the employed in the
accommodation and food sectors are between 15 and 24 years old. Wholesale and retail trade, where young
people constitute 12.2 % of all employed, is another youth-intensive sector. A higher proportion of young
people is also found in a sector of arts, entertainment and recreation (14.5 %).
Temporary contracts
An important characteristic of the youth labour market is the high percentage of temporary contracts in
comparison to other age categories. A temporary contract is a fixed-
term contract which will terminate either after a period agreed in
Temporary employment is related to
advance or, if certain objective criteria are met, such as the completion
lower job security as well as poorer skills
of an assignment or the return of the employee who has been
and career development.
temporarily replaced (
38
).
Temporary employment can be an important step in the transition from education to the labour market. It gives
young people work experience and makes it easier for them to find a job. Temporary employment also gives
employers an opportunity to assess young people’s
suitability and capacity to perform the tasks required. Often,
temporary jobs serve as stepping-stones to permanent jobs (
39
).
However, temporary employment implies higher levels of insecurity both workwise and financially, as well as
fewer opportunities for developing skills and
Figure 3-N:
Young temporary employees (15-29 years)
longer-term careers. Young people can be trapped
as percentage of the total number of employees,
in a cycle of alternating periods of temporary
compared with the 'prime' working age group (24-
employment and unemployment, which may
54 years), EU-28 average, 2016
adversely affect their status into their thirties and
beyond. Where this is the case, young people may
lack the stability needed to allow them to live
independently (
40
).
Figure 3-N shows that the proportion of
temporary employees is very high for the
youngest age group (15-19 year-olds) but it
reduces rapidly with each older group. In the
EU-28, 58.2 % of all 15-19 year-olds in
employment have temporary work contracts (
41
).
The proportion drops to 39.6 % for 20-24 year-
olds and even further to 23.1 % for 25-29 year
olds. In contrast, only 1 in 10 of the adult
employees in the prime working age group has a
Age
11/09/2017
15-19
20-24
25-29
25-54
Source:
Eurostat LFS [yth_empl_050] and [lfsi_pt_a], data extracted on
(
37
)
(
38
)
(
39
)
(
40
)
(
41
)
See Eurostat, 'Employment by sex, age and economic activity (from 2008 onwards, NACE Rev. 2)
–
1 000', online data code:
lfsa_egan2. Data extracted on 21/09/2017.
Eurostat, 2017b.
Eurofound, 2013.
Eurofound, 2010.
This might be due to the temporary student jobs or seasonal work, especially during the summer.
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3
fixed-term contract.
One of the EU youth indicators focuses on the proportion of young employees aged 20-29 with a temporary
contract (Figure 3-O). The types of contracts that young people have vary considerably across European
countries. In Bulgaria, the Baltic countries, Romania and the United Kingdom, very few young people (less than
10 % of all employees) have fixed-term contracts. In the labour markets of these countries, temporary contracts
are rather rare in general (
42
). In contrast, in Spain, Croatia, Poland, Portugal and Slovenia, every other young
employee has a fixed-term contract (the proportion ranges from 50 to 55 %). In Italy, 40.5 % of young
employees do not hold a permanent position. The proportion of young employees in temporary employment is
also relatively high (between 30 % and 40 %) in Denmark, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Finland and
Sweden. In most of these countries, the proportion of prime working age employees on temporary contracts is
also higher than the EU-28 average.
Figure 3-O:
Young employees aged 20-29 with a temporary contract as a percentage of the total number of
employees, by country, 2016
Less than 10 %
10-19 %
EU youth indicator
20-29 %
30-39 %
40-55 %
Data not available/not collected
Note:
Low reliability: Lithuania.
Source:
Eurostat LFS [yth_empl_050] and
[lfsi_pt_a], data extracted on 12/09/2017
The trends in the EU-28 reveal that the proportion of employees with a temporary contract in the prime working
age group remained rather stable during the last ten years, ranging between 9.2 and 10.3 %. The proportion of
young employees on fixed-term contracts slightly increased during the recession, from 27.6 % in 2007 to
28.7 % in 2013. During the economic recovery, temporary employment for young people continued to grow and
is currently 29.5 %. It is important to note that the EU-28 average encompasses divergent trends between
countries that partly reflect the significance of this type of employment before the crisis. For example, fixed-
term contracts increased during the recession and afterwards in most of the countries that already had a high rate
of fixed-term contracts (e.g. France, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia and Finland). In other countries, such as
Ireland and some central and eastern Member States where changes in labour legislation have encouraged the
use of temporary contracts, the proportion of fixed-term contracts increased during the recession (
43
), but has
been in decline since 2013 (
44
).
(
42
)
(
43
)
(
44
)
Less than 4 % of prime working age group employees have temporary contracts. See Eurostat, 'Part-time employment and
temporary contracts - annual data', online data code: lfsi_pt_a. Data extracted on 11/09/2017.
Eurofound, 2013.
See trends in Eurostat,'Young temporary employees as a percentage of the total number of employees, by sex, age and country of
birth', online data code: yth_empl_050. Data extracted on 12/09/2017.
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Part-time work
The ILO defines the term 'part-time worker' as an
employed person whose normal hours of work are
fewer than those of comparable full-time
workers (
45
). This definition encompasses all forms
of part-time work (half-day work, work for one, two
or three days a week, etc.). This number may be
established at the national, regional, industrial or
unit level. For comparative statistical purposes,
however, part-time work is usually considered as
working fewer than 35 hours, or 30 hours, per
week (
46
).
Figure 3-P:
Part-time employment for young people
(15-29 year-olds) as a percentage of total youth
employment, compared with the 'prime' working age
group (24-54 year-olds), EU-28 average, by sex, 2016
Part-time employment can be beneficial depending
on the quality of the part-time job and whether
working part-time is a voluntary choice. The gap
between the conditions of part-time and full-time
employment differs significantly among European
15-20
20-24
25-29
25-54
Ages
countries. On average, part-time jobs are
Source:
Eurostat LFS [yth_empl_060] and [lfsi_pt_a], data extracted
on 29/05/2017
characterised by poorer job security, lower average
hourly earnings and fewer opportunities for training and promotion (
47
).
However, part-time jobs are the only way some groups of people can join or remain in the labour market. Many
young people who are in education and training (Figure 3-A) are able to work only some hours per week in
term-time or longer during vacations. Moreover, young people may work part-time as part of an apprenticeship
in the context of either a vocational education programme or an employer-based programme. Part-time work is
also often used by those with children or other care responsibilities. This becomes more important for the older
age groups (Figure 3-P).
Part-time work is very common among the youngest employed people.
Young people in the 15-24 age group
Figure 3-P shows that every second 15-19 year-old who has a job
mostly work part-time in order to be able
works less than full-time. This might be because the majority (72.6 %)
to study. In contrast, most 25-29 year-
of those who work in this age group combine work and study
olds take part-time jobs involuntarily.
(Figure 3-A). Many 20-24 year-olds also work part-time, namely
26.9 % of all employed people in this age group. This largely mirrors the proportion of people who combine
work and studies (26.5 %). In contrast, only 17.5 % of employees in the prime working age group (25-54) are
not employed full-time. The proportion is even lower among 25-29 year-olds, i.e. 16.9 %.
Women tend to work part-time much more than men. Among the youngest age group in employment, namely
15-19 year-olds, 61.0 % of employed women worked less than full-time compared to 42.9 % of employed men.
The reasons for a part-time job in this age group do not differ by gender
–
most young women and men (almost
80 %) work fewer hours than full-time workers in order to study.
(
45
)
(
46
)
(
47
)
ILO, 1994.
ILO, 2017. In LFS, the distinction between full-time and part-time work is generally based on a spontaneous response by the
respondent (Eurostat, 2017b).
Fagan et al., 2015.
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Looking at 20-24 year-olds, 34.9 % of women in employment work
less than full-time, compared with 20.2 % of men. Figure 3-Q shows
that in this age group, education and training was still the main reason
for part-time employment. However, one in three employed males and
females worked part-time because they could not find full-time work
(this is defined as involuntary part-time employment and is analysed in
detail in Figure 3-R).
In most of the countries where a high
proportion of young people work part-
time, the main reason is for study
purposes.
Among 25-29 year-olds, only one in ten men works less than full-time. In contrast, in this age group, a quarter
of employed females works part-time. Figure 3-Q suggests that the reasons for working less than full-time differ
considerably between men and women in this age group. Among men, 45.6 % work part-time because they
cannot find a full-time job, 30.9 % for educational reasons and only 4.2 % for family reasons. In contrast,
34.0 % of women aged 25-29 work part-time because of care duties
–
they look after children or incapacitated
adults or have other family or personal responsibilities. In addition, 35.0 % of women work part-time
involuntarily and only 14.8 % choose part-time jobs in order to study.
Patterns of part-time work become even more gender-oriented in the prime working age group, where 93.4 % of
employed men hold full-time jobs compared to 69.9 % of women. Adult women work part-time mostly due to
family duties, while the few men who work part-time primarily do so because they cannot find a full-time
position.
Figure 3-Q:
Main reasons for part-time employment among young people aged 15-29, compared to adults
aged 25-59, EU-28 average, by sex, 2016
%
Age
15-19
20-24
25-29
25-59
Age
%
Age
15-19
20-24
25-29
25-59
Age
Family responsibilities
Could not find a full-time job
In education or training
Notes:
The category 'Family responsibilities' merges two categories: 'Looking after children or incapacitated adults' and ' Other family or
personal responsibilities'. Omitted categories include: 'Own illness or disability' and 'Other'. For the 15-19 age group, the categories
'Looking after children or incapacitated adults' and 'Own illness or disability' are not available.
Source:
Eurostat LFS [yth_empl_070] and [lfsa_epgar]., data extracted on 15/09/2017
Figure 3-R shows that the level to which part-time jobs predominate in youth employment (20-29 year-olds)
varies greatly in European countries. In the EU-28, on average, 20.7 % of all employed young people aged 20-
29 worked less than full-time. The Netherlands stands out with a very high proportion of young people working
part-time (53.9 %). Many young people are employed less than full-time in the Scandinavian countries
(Denmark, Sweden and Norway) as well as Iceland (the proportion ranges from 30 % to 40 %). In contrast, part-
time employment among young people is rather rare in most of the Member States that have accessed the EU
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since 2004 (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia), as well as the former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Turkey.
As discussed earlier, there are various reasons for working less than full-time. Figure 3-R also indicates the
proportion of involuntary part-time employment in the total employment of 20-29 year-olds. In the EU-28,
7.5 % of employed young people work part-time because they are unable to find full-time work. However, in
most of the countries with a high prevalence of part-time youth employment, the percentage working part-time
involuntarily is rather low. In Denmark, the Netherlands and Iceland, the majority of those who work part-time
do so because of education or training commitments (
48
).
The proportion of involuntary part-time employment is very high in Italy, where 20.9 % of young people in
employment are working part-time because they cannot find a full-time position. In other words, in Italy,
involuntary part-time work constitutes 80.8 % of all part-time positions filled by young people. The proportion
is also very high in Spain: involuntary reasons account for 17.1 % of all jobs held by young people and 65.8 %
of part-time jobs.
Figure 3-R:
Part-time employment as a percentage of total employment among young people aged 20-29,
including the percentage of involuntary part-time workers, by country, 2016
%
%
Involuntary
Other reasons
Notes:
'Involuntary' means respondents are working part-time because they are unable to find
full-time
work. ‘Other reasons’ for part-time
working included 'Undergoing school education or
training', 'Due to own illness or disability', 'Looking after children or incapacitated adults', 'Other
personal or family reasons' and 'Other reasons'.
Estonia, Lithuania and Norway: No estimate for involuntary part-time work. Bulgaria, Croatia,
the Netherlands, Slovenia and Sweden: Low reliability of involuntary part-time work estimates.
The EU-28 Figure shows part-time employment as percentage of total employment for youth
(20-29 year-olds) and prime working age (25-54 year-olds) groups.
Source:
Calculations based on Eurostat LFS [yth_empl_060], [yth_empl_080] and [lfsi_pt_a ],
data extracted on 15/09/2017
The proportions of youth and adult part-time employment were similar in the EU-28 in 2007 (approximately
16 %). The impact of recession was stronger on youth jobs: in 2013, 20.7 % of young employed people worked
part-time, compared with 17.6 % of those aged 25-54. The proportion remained stable in both age groups during
the recent years of economic recovery.
(
48
)
Eurostat, 'Main reason for part-time employment
–
Distributions by sex and age (%)', online data code: lfsa_epgar. Data extracted
on 15/09/2017.
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Atypical working hours
In many sectors, for instance in retail, transport, agriculture, health-care
or certain industries, specific working
hours and rhythms are required: shift work, weekend work, evening work and night work. These so-called
atypical working hours might be attractive for people who are trying to combine full-time studies and work.
Moreover, accepting jobs during atypical working hours might serve as an entry point into employment for
some young people.
However, working atypical hours for
longer periods might entail negative
consequences on the health and social
life of employees. Working shifts has
been shown to contribute to disrupted
social relationships, while night work
might be related to insomnia, stress,
fatigue and irritability (
49
). On average,
in the EU-28, 38.3 % of employees
work atypical working hours (
50
).
Figure 3-S:
Proportion of young employees aged 15-24 working
atypical working hours, compared with adults aged 25-59, EU-28
average, 2016
Figure 3-S indicates that the proportion
of young people aged 15-24 working
shifts, weekends and evenings was
%
%
Shifts
Saturday
Sunday
Evening
Night
higher than that of older age groups
Note:
20-29 age category is not available in Eurostat database.
(aged 25-59). One in three young
Source:
Eurostat LFS [lfsa_ewpshi] [lfsa_ewpsat] [lfsa_ewpsun] [lfsa_ewpeve]
[lfsa_ewpnig]. Data extracted on 17/09/2017..
employees worked on Saturdays
compared with one in four adult employees, and while around one in five young employees worked shifts,
Sundays or evenings, the corresponding figure for adults was around one in six. Evening work was the least
prevalent, and the difference in the proportions of youth and adult groups in this type of work was the smallest.
Self-employment and entrepreneurship
Self-employed people work in their own business, professional practice, or on their own farm (
51
). There are two
main drivers for becoming self-employed: 'opportunity' entrepreneurs use self-employment in order to realise
their business ideas, become their own boss or achieve a better work-life balance; 'necessity' entrepreneurs, on
the other hand, start their own business because they cannot find employment elsewhere and have no other
means of making a living. The first group often tend to report the higher levels of happiness and job satisfaction
associated with creativity, autonomy and flexibility, while the second group tend to have levels of job
satisfaction similar to or lower than regular employees (
52
). A recent study shows that only one in four young
self-employed people start their own business because they have no other alternative; however, they still turn to
self-employment out of necessity more often than older age groups (
53
).
(
49
)
(
50
)
(
51
)
(
52
)
(
53
)
Boisard (1990); Boisard et al. (2002).
Eurostat, 'Employment at atypical working time as a percentage of the total employment, by European socio-economic group',
online data code: lfsa_esegatyp. Data extracted on 17/09/2017.
Eurostat, 2017a.
Baumol, 1990; Reynold et al., 2005; Blanchflower, 2000; Binder and Coad, 2013; Fairlie and Fossen, 2017.
A quarter of the self-employed people aged under 35 (24 %) say they have no other alternatives for work, compared with 18-19 %
of the self-employed in older age groups. See Eurofound (2017).
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3
Although the self-employed population is a highly
heterogeneous group, it is important to highlight that all
these people share some common issues with respect to
job quality (
54
). On average, the self-employed generally
have lower pay than the employed, especially those
without employees. Furthermore, self-employment
appears to provide lower levels of social security than
many other forms of employment (
55
). Often the self-
employed work within the informal sector or become free-
lance when regular employment becomes scarce. Working
conditions vary greatly, but most entrepreneurs tend to
work longer and more atypical hours. Moreover, the
potential for stress and health-related issues for the self-
employed is often greater than for employees. Thus, self-
employment might not be wholly beneficial for young
people (
56
), but unlocking the potential of youth
entrepreneurship is still important so that those who have
good business ideas and the right skills can set up and run
successful enterprises (
57
).
Figure 3-T:
Self-employment as a percentage of
total employment for young people (20-29 year-
olds) compared to the prime working age group
(24-54 year-olds), EU-28 average, by sex, 2016
Ages
Source:
15-29
Eurydice
20-24
calculations
based
25-54
on
Eurostat
LFS
Younger people are far less likely than older people to be
[lfsa_esgan] and [lfsa_egan], data extracted on 18/09/2017.
self-employed. In the EU-28, only 4.7 % of employed
people in the age 20-24 group work in their own business (Figure 3-T). The proportion is higher among 25-29
year-olds (8.0 %), but it still remains considerably lower than the proportion of self-employed people in the
prime working age group (13.9 %). Young people face greater barriers in starting their own business compared
to other age groups: they have more difficulty in raising external finance because they lack savings and
collateral; they may lack the right experience and skills to run a successful business; and they are often not
sufficiently aware of entrepreneurship as an employment opportunity (
58
).
There is a strong gender divide in the self-employment figures. The rate for men is almost twice that of women
in the prime working age group (25-54) as well as among 20-24 year olds. There are numerous explanations for
this gender gap, including differences in attitudes to risk-taking; difficulties in combining self-employment with
family responsibilities; family and tax policies that discourage labour market participation and entrepreneurship;
as well as negative attitudes towards female entrepreneurs (
59
).
Self-employed young people do not usually employ other people. Only 10.7 % of 20-24 year-olds who own a
business have at least one employee. The proportion is higher for 25-29 year-olds (17.5 %), but still lower than
that of the prime working age population (28.6 %) (
60
).
(
54
)
(
55
)
(
56
)
(
57
)
(
58
)
(
59
)
(
60
)
Van Praag and Versloot, 2007; Binder and Coad, 2013; OECD/EU, 2017b.
Considerable numbers of self-employed people exit before five years and many of these people do not have access to
unemployment benefits. See OECD/EU, 2017b.
Burchell et al., 2015; Hatfield, 2014.
Eurofound, 2015.
European Commission, 2017a.
Andersson Joona and Wadensjö, 2008; OECD/EU, 2017a; Wagner, 2007.
Eurydice calculations based on Eurostat 'Self-employment by sex, age and citizenship (1 000)' (online data code: lfsa_esgan) and
'Employment by sex, age and citizenship (1 000)', (online data code: lfsa_egan), data extracted on 18/09/2017.
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3
Young people tend to start businesses in the service sector rather than in manufacturing-oriented sectors. This is
probably because the barriers to entry are lower, capital needs are less and lower levels of business skills are
required (
61
). In the EU-28, young self-employed people are concentrated in the agricultural, construction and
trade (wholesale and retail) sectors (
62
). In some of these sectors (i.e. construction), forms of ‘bogus’ or false
self-employment are widespread (
63
).
The proportion of self-employed young people aged 20-29 is one of the EU youth indicators (Figure 3-U). The
highest rates of self-employed young people are in Italy, where 14.6 % of the 20-29 year-olds in employment
have set up their own business. In Greece, the rate is 13.6 %, followed by Romania (11.4 %) and Slovakia
(10.9 %). In contrast, very few young people have their own business in Denmark, where only 2.6 % of the
20-29 year-olds in employment are self-employed. The rates are also very low (around 3.0 %) in Germany,
Sweden and Norway.
Figure 3-U:
Self-employment as a percentage of total employment for young people aged 20-29, by country,
2016
More than 10 %
7-9 %
EU youth indicator
5-6 %
Less than 5 %
Data not available/not collected
Source:
Eurydice calculations based on Eurostat LFS
[yth_empl_040], [yth_empl_010], [lfsa_esgan] and
[lfsa_egan], data extracted on 18/09/2017.
In the EU-28 on average, the self-employment rates for young people have been stable during the last ten years
(varying between 6.8 % and 7.0 %). Comparing 2007 with 2013, the proportion of adults who work in their own
business, professional practice, or on their own farm slightly decreased (from 14.6 % to 13.9 %). This might be
related to the long-term structural decline of employment in the agricultural sector (
64
)
–
the sector that provides
the highest levels of self-employment.
In several countries (
65
), youth self-employment rates increased during the height of the economic recession and
fell afterwards. This trend might suggest that young people set up their own business in order to avoid
(
61
)
(
62
)
(
63
)
(
64
)
(
65
)
Rosa, 2003; Parker, 2009.
OECD/EU, 2014; Eurofound, 2015.
Eurofound, 2015.
European Commission, 2015
Belgium, Czech Republic, Greece, Spain, Latvia, Malta, Slovenia, Slovakia, Sweden and Iceland.
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3
unemployment. However, in other countries (
66
), the proportion of self-employed young people fell during the
years of the crisis as well as afterwards.
People’s stated intentions to start a business are analysed in order to reveal the entrepreneurial potential of a
population. Figure 3-V shows that young people (18-34 year-olds) tend to express more entrepreneurial
intentions than the older adult population (35-64 year-olds). In almost all European countries with available
data, the percentage of the youth population who are latent entrepreneurs and who intend to start a business
within three years is much higher than among adults. The proportion of young people who would like to set up
their own business is especially high in Estonia, France, Croatia, Latvia, Slovenia and the former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia. In these countries, more than 25 % of young people (who are not yet involved in any
stage of entrepreneurial activity) declare they would like to start a business within three years. The proportion is
also high (between 20 and 25 %) in Cyprus, Hungary and Portugal. In contrast, few people aged between 18 and
34 (less than 10 %) express entrepreneurial intentions in Bulgaria, Spain, Slovakia and the United Kingdom.
Figure 3-V:
Proportion of young people aged 18-34 who would like to set up their own business compared
with adults aged 35-64, by country, 2017
EU youth indicator
Notes:
The Figure shows the 'Entrepreneurial Intention' variable: the percentage of the population (individuals involved in any stage of
entrepreneurial activity excluded) who are latent entrepreneurs and who intend to start a business within three years.
2016 data for Hungary, Austria, Portugal, Finland and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
Source:
Age break down provided by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (http://www.gemconsortium.org/data/key-aps)
(
66
)
Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Croatia, Italy, Hungary, Austria, Portugal, Norway, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and
Turkey.
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3
CONCLUSION
Young people entering the world of work usually experience multiple and often protracted transitions between
education, labour market and/or inactivity. On average in Europe, the cut-off point when more people are in the
labour market than in education is age 22. People aged 15-19 are rarely employed and, where they are, it is
usually in part-time student jobs, combining employment and education. In Europe, every other person aged
20-24 has a job. Three quarters of them work full-time. The activity rates of people aged 25-29 are close to
those of the prime working age population. However, the proportion of unemployed young people in this age
group (as well as those aged 20-24) is higher than that of the prime working age group.
In the majority of European countries, youth employment rates mirror those of the adult population. High
proportions of young people are in employment in those countries where adult employment rates are high and
vice versa. However, the quality of jobs and job security might differ. A much higher proportion of young
employees have temporary or fixed-term contracts compared to the prime working-age population. Moreover, a
higher proportion of young employees also work atypical hours (shifts, evenings or weekends). In contrast, few
young people have set up their own business and even fewer employ others.
On average, in Europe, unemployment in both the youth population and the prime working age population has
been decreasing since the height of the economic recession. Since 2013, there are 1.3 million fewer jobless
young people in the EU. Young men and people with lower levels of education are suffering more from
unemployment. However, in some European countries, especially in southern Europe, educational attainment
and qualifications do not give as much protection from unemployment as they do elsewhere.
54