Youth Unemployment Is Dramatically High In Some Parts of Europe

In some European countries youth unemployment has risen to disturbing levels. This subject should always be a concern no matter what country and economic situation you’re in. EU countries account for one-fourth of the world’s economy, outpacing the United States and casting a long shadow over China’s 13 percent share. In a new report from Glassdoor Economic Research, conducted in cooperation with Llewellyn Consulting, we set out to identify which countries in Europe have the best and worst youth unemployment rates and why. When analysing unemployment rates of 15-24 year olds across 16 European countries we discovered that the figure is over 50 percent in Spain and Greece, nearly 43 percent in Italy and 35 percent in Portugal. The equivalent rate is close to 25 percent in France, Ireland, and Belgium, and over 20 percent in Finland. Persistently high levels of unemployment not only severely compromises career prospects, but it can also lead to social and political unrest. The good news for the UK is that youth unemployment is starting to fall. Having peaked at just over 20 percent in 2011-12, it is now down to 17 percent - which is close to pre-crisis rate (15 percent). Youth Unemployment Rate; Temporary employment is also an issue in Spain, Portugal and other European countries. Among young workers, the numbers on fixed-term contracts are higher than average; particularly in Spain (nearly 70 percent), and Portugal, France, Sweden, Italy, and the Netherlands (around 60 percent). Even in Germany and Switzerland, the proportion is above 50 percent. The UK and Estonia have the lowest proportion, by quite a margin. Temporary Youth Employment;