Introduction: youth unemployment in European countries

Youth unemployment is an important issue in policy debates across European countries, and both the level of youth unemployment and the range of fluctuation in youth unemployment figures stimulate public discussion. The range of youth unemployment rates differs remarkably among countries and over time. According to Eurostat, for example, the unemployment rate for those aged under 25 in 2000 ranged from 7.3% in Denmark to 30.7% in Italy.

Taking a longitudinal perspective, significant variations in youth unemployment can be observed within the same country during the 1990s. For example, Finland began the decade with a relatively low youth unemployment rate of 9.3% and by 1994 had already reached a peak of 34%. Spain also reached its 1990s peak in 1994 at 45%, after which youth unemployment decreased to 26.2% by 2000. In Germany however, the national unemployment rate remained relatively stable over the 1990s, exhibiting a moderate range of fluctuation – between 8% and 10.8%. Also, the youth unemployment rate in Germany varies remarkably among regions: for example from 5% to 30% in 2000.

As can be seen in Figure 6.1, the youth unemployment rate varies dramatically across countries, across regions, within countries and over time. As discussed below, there is variation beyond these macro-indicators – variation related to individual characteristics such as gender, ethnic background, age and employment qualifications.

The labour market participation rate of the under-25s varies across countries and over time, and strongly influences the level and impact of youth unemployment. In Italy, for example, only 26.1% of 15- to 24-year-olds are integrated into the labour market; the comparable participation rate for Denmark is 67.1%. From a longitudinal perspective, national participation rates differed across countries during the last decade: in Germany and Italy there was a decrease in the youth labour market participation rate, whereas Spain, France and the UK show a U-shaped curve. However, there is no clear association between the development of labour market participation rate and the level of labour market participation rate in 1990 across the European countries (see Figure 6.2).

The varying levels of young people's labour market participation in European countries indicate that unemployment rates of young people are hardly comparable over countries.