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2024. Young people on the labour market (lfso_24)

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Reference Metadata in Euro SDMX Metadata Structure (ESMS)

Compiling agency: Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union

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The EU-LFS 8-yearly module 'Young people in the labour market' conducted in 2024 provides information on:

  • match between education, skills and current or previous main job
  • persons with tertiary education by medium educational attainment qualifications
  • dropping out of formal education or training, including dropout level and reason

The module includes 7 variables.

  1. LEVMATCH: Match between educational attainment level and current or last main job
  2. FIELDMATCH: Match between field of the highest level of education successfully completed and current or last main job
  3. SKILLMATCH: Match between skills and current or last main job
  4. DROPEDUC: Formal education or training abandoned
  5. DROPEDUCLEVE: Level of the formal education or training abandoned
  6. DROPEDUCREAS: Main reason for not completing the formal education programme referred to in DROPEDUCLEVEL
  7. MEDLEVQUAL: Medium educational attainment qualifications

5 December 2025

Target population

The 2024 LFS module includes persons aged 15-34. This group will be referred to as the target population of the survey module. Most of the variables in the survey module were limited further, thus dealing with sub-groups of the target population (e.g. persons who have abandoned formal education or training).

 

Definitions

Formal education and training is defined according to the International Standard Classification of Education 2011 (ISCED 2011) as ‘education that is institutionalised, intentional and planned through public organizations and recognised private bodies and – in their totality – constitute the formal education system of a country. Formal education programmes are thus recognised as such by the relevant national education authorities or equivalent authorities, e.g. any other institution in cooperation with the national or sub-national education authorities. Formal education consists mostly of initial education. Vocational education, special needs education and some parts of adult education are often recognised as being part of the formal education system.’ (ISCED 2011 glossary). The ISCED definition of (formal) education includes (formal) training.

Work experience during studies refers to work experiences at a workplace in a market or non-market unit (i.e. in a company, government institution or non-profit organisation) that were part of the curriculum of the formal programme that led to the highest level of education successfully completed.

Dropping out of (or ‘abandoning’) formal education and training means that a person has started a formal education programme but has not successfully completed it. According to the ISCED 2011, ‘a common characteristic of an education programme is that, upon fulfilment of learning objectives or educational tasks, successful completion is certified.’ Accordingly, dropping out of formal education is defined as leaving formal education without certification or without obtaining the final credential associated with this formal education. The variable covers all formal education activities abandoned during the life of the person.

The level of the formal education or training activity is defined according to the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED 2011). Data on dropout levels are presented in 3 aggregates:

  • low education – primary and lower secondary education (ISCED levels 1-2)
  • medium education – upper secondary and post-secondary non-tertiary education (ISCED levels 3 and 4)
  • high education – tertiary education (ISCED levels 5-8).


The indicator on young people neither in employment nor in education and training (NEET) corresponds to the percentage of the population of a given age group and sex that is not employed and not involved in education or training. The numerator of the indicator refers to people who meet the following two conditions:

  • they are not employed (i.e. unemployed or outside the labour force, according to the EU-LFS definition)
  • they have not received any education or training (i.e. either formal or non-formal) in the 4 weeks ending with the reference week.

The denominator consists of the total population of the same age group, excluding the respondents who have not answered the question ‘participation in regular (formal) education and training’.

NEET rates estimated based on the EU-LFS module differ slightly from the NEET rates available in the edat_lfse_23 table due to sub-sampling for the module.

Employed person is a person who, during the reference week, was in one of the following categories:

  • people who, during the reference week, worked for at least 1 hour for pay or profit, including contributing family workers
  • people with a job or business who were temporarily not at work during the reference week but had an attachment to their job.

Unemployed person is a person who, during the reference week, were in all 3 of the following categories:

  • not employed during the reference week according to the definition of employed above
  • currently available for work, i.e. available to start working for paid employment or self-employment before the end of the 2 weeks following the reference week
  • actively seeking work, i.e. had either carried out activities in the 4-week period ending with the reference week to find paid employment or self-employment or already found a job expected to start within a period of at most 3 months from the end of the reference week.

Labour force comprises people who were either employed or unemployed during the reference week.

 

Online tables and the coverage of data

Match between education, skills and main job

Code and title Coverage
lfso_24match01: Persons by match between educational attainment level and current/last main job and work experience while studying (2024)

Persons aged 15 to 34 years

  • in employment or
  • not in employment but have been previously in employment.
lfso_24match02: Persons by match between educational attainment level and current/last main job and occupation (2024)

Persons aged 15 to 34 years

  • in employment or
  • not in employment but have been previously in employment.
lfso_24match03: Persons not in formal education by match between educational attainment level and current/last main job and years since completion of highest level of education (2024)

Persons aged 15 to 34 years

  • in employment or not in employment but have been previously in employment and
  • who were not in formal education during past 4 weeks ending with the reference week.
lfso_24match04: Persons by match between educational attainment level and current/last main job and country of birth (2024)

Persons aged 15 to 34 years

  • in employment or
  • not in employment but have been previously in employment.
lfso_24match05: Persons by match between field of education and current/last main job and work experience while studying (2024)

Persons aged 15 to 34 years

  • in employment or
  • not in employment but have been previously in employment.
lfso_24match06: Persons by match between field of education and current/last main job and field of education (2024)

Persons aged 15 to 34 years

  • in employment or not in employment but have been previously in employment and
  • with information about the field of the highest level of education successfully completed.
lfso_24match07: Persons by match between field of education and current/last main job and occupation (2024)

Persons aged 15 to 34 years

  • in employment or not in employment but have been previously in employment and
  • with information about the field of the highest level of education successfully completed.
lfso_24match08: Persons not in formal education by match between field of education and current/last main job and years since completion of highest level of education (2024)

Persons aged 15 to 34 years

  • in employment or not in employment but have been previously in employment and
  • with information about the field of the highest level of education successfully completed and
  • who were not in formal education during past 4 weeks ending with the reference week.
lfso_24match09: Persons by match between field of education and current/last main job and country of birth (2024)

Persons aged 15 to 34 years

  • in employment or not in employment but have been previously in employment and
  • with information about the field of the highest level of education successfully completed.
lfso_24match10: Persons by match between skills and current/last main job and work experience while studying (2024)

Persons aged 15 to 34 years

  • in employment or
  • not in employment but have been previously in employment.
lfso_24match11: Persons by match between skills and current/last main job and occupation (2024)

Persons aged 15 to 34 years

  • in employment or
  • not in employment but have been previously in employment.
lfso_24match12: Persons not in formal education by match between skills and current/last main job and years since completion of highest level of education (2024)

Persons aged 15 to 34 years

  • in employment or not in employment but have been previously in employment and
  • who were not in formal education during past 4 weeks ending with the reference week.
lfso_24match13: Persons not in formal education by match between skills and current/last main job and job tenure (2024)

Persons aged 15 to 34 years

  • in employment or not in employment but have been previously in employment and
  • who were not in formal education during past 4 weeks ending with the reference week.
lfso_24match14: Persons by match between skills and current/last main job and country of birth (2024)

Persons aged 15 to 34 years

  • in employment or
  • not in employment but have been previously in employment.

Formal education or training abandoned

Code and title

Coverage
lfso_24eab01: Persons by formal education or training abandoned and educational attainment level (2024) Persons aged 15-34.
lfso_24eab02: Persons by level of the formal education or training abandoned and educational attainment level (2024) Persons aged 15-34 with formal education or training abandoned (one or several)
lfso_24eab03: Persons by level of the formal education or training abandoned and reason (2024) Persons aged 15-34 with formal education or training abandoned (one or several)
lfso_24eab04: Persons neither in employment nor in education and training by educational attainment level and formal education or training abandoned (NEET rates) (2024) Persons aged 15-34.

Tertiary education

Code and title Coverage
lfso_24tert01: Persons with tertiary education by medium educational attainment qualifications (2024) Persons aged 15-34 with tertiary educational attainment level (equal or higher than ISCED 5).
lfso_24tert02: Employment rate of persons with tertiary education by medium educational attainment qualifications (2024) Persons aged 15-34 with tertiary educational attainment level (equal or higher than ISCED 5).
lfso_24tert03: Unemployment rate of persons with tertiary education by medium educational attainment qualifications (2024) Persons aged 15-34 with tertiary educational attainment level (equal or higher than ISCED 5).

Labour market outcomes

Code and title Coverage
lfso_24lmk01: Employment rate by work experience while studying and country of birth Persons aged 20-34 with educational attainment level equal or higher than ISCED 3.
lfso_24lmk02: Unemployment rate by work experience while studying and country of birth Persons aged 20-34 with educational attainment level equal or higher than ISCED 3.
lfso_24lmk03: Labour force participation rate by work experience while studying and country of birth Persons aged 20-34 with educational attainment level equal or higher than ISCED 3.
lfso_24lmk04: Persons in part-time employment by work experience while studying  Employed persons aged 20-34 with educational attainment level equal or higher than ISCED 3.
lfso_24lmk05: Persons in part-time employment by work experience while studying and reason  Employed persons aged 20-34 with educational attainment level equal or higher than ISCED 3 working part-time.
lfso_24lmk06: Temporary employees by work experience while studying Employees aged 20-34 with educational attainment level equal or higher than ISCED 3.
lfso_24lmk07: Employees with involuntary temporary contracts by work experience while studying Employees with fixed-term job aged 20-34 with educational attainment level equal or higher than ISCED 3. 
lfso_24lmk08: Employed persons by work experience while studying and job tenure Employed persons aged 20-34 with educational attainment level equal or higher than ISCED 3.

Output variables

Table lfso_24match05: Persons by match between field of education and current/last main job and work experience while studying 

  • Category 'Not applicable' includes response categories  'No job requirements' and 'No particular field of educational qualification when previously in employment'

Tables lfso_24match06 - lfso_24match09: Persons by match between field of education and current/last main job

  • Category 'No match' includes response categories 'No extent', 'No job requirements' and 'No particular field of educational qualification when previously in employment'

Table lfso_24eab03: Persons by level of the formal education or training abandoned and reason

  • Category 'Other family or personal reasons' includes response categories 'Care responsibilities', 'Other family reasons' and 'Other personal reasons'

Persons aged 15-34, living in private households.

Persons aged 15-34, living in private households.

  • 27 EU countries: Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland, and Sweden
  • 1 EFTA country: Norway
  • 1 candidate country: North Macedonia

Refrence period is reference week of 2024. The variable 'Formal education or training abandoned' covers all formal education activities abandoned during the life of the person.

Please refer to the ESMS page on Employment and unemployment (LFS).

Number of persons, expressed in thousands. Percentages.

Aggregate figures are calculated by adding up all the national data series. 

All of the Eurobase tables present percentages of the reference population total. The calculation of percentages is based on a total excluding the number of people classified in the non-response category. As such, all exhaustive breakdowns presented in the tables should amount to 100 % (allowing for rounding errors).

The source of the data is the European Union Labour Force Survey (EU-LFS). The EU-LFS is a rotating random sample survey of persons in private households. The Regulation (EU) 2019/1700, also called the Integrated European Social Statistics Framework Regulation (IESS FR), and its Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2240 for the labour force domain provide a precise description of the survey content (module and submodules of the questionnaire).

The main characteristics of the new EU-LFS methodology based on the revised Regulation are available in the article: EU labour force survey - methodology

Not applicable.

The deadline for data transmissions to Eurostat was 31 March 2025.

Comparability of the EU-LFS across countries is considered as high and is achieved through various regulations ensuring harmonisation of concepts, definitions and methodologies.

Please refer to the ESMS page on Employment and unemployment (LFS).

Not applicable.