Archive:Young people - education and employment patterns

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Young people - school/work/inactivity - what are they doing?

After the age of 18, compulsory schooling has ended in all European countries. Thereafter, young Europeans can be in a number of different situations regarding education and employment. Do many young people aged 18-24 devote all their time to studying? How many are combining studies and work? How many have left education to find work?

More than two thirds of young Europeans aged 18-24 are exclusively in education or employment, but around 7 million young Europeans study and work at the same time. Some students work in conjunction with their education (e.g. as apprentices or trainees), others to gain experience, to finance their studies or simply to earn money. Some have left education and are either looking for a job or are not searching, for different reasons.

This publication is the first of a set of 'Statistics explained’ aiming to describe the situation of young people regarding education and employment.

Main statistical findings

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The population of persons aged 18-24 can be divided into four broad categories. In 2009, in the EU, 16.4 million young persons aged 18-24 were exclusively in education, accounting for 39 % of the age class. Young persons who were only in employment (for at least one hour a week) numbered 12.2 million (29 % of the age class). On top of these two categories, around 6.9 million young persons (or 16.5 % of the age class) combined education and employment, and 6.8 million (16 % of the age class) were neither in education nor in employment. The composition of the population according to the four above categories (Figure 1) evolves with age. In the EU-27, almost all 15yearolds were exclusively in education in 2009, whereas more than 90 % of those aged 29 had already left education. The highest proportion of persons combining both education and employment can be observed between the ages of 17 and 24 (between 15 % and 17 %). Between these ages, the composition of the population varied substantially, including not only apprentices and trainees, but also students who needed to work and young workers who were still studying.

In the EU-27, in 2009, 39 % of 18-24-year-olds were exclusively in education

In 2009, 16.4 million young persons aged 18-24 were exclusively in education in the European Union: 37.5 % of them were attending programmes below tertiary education (i.e. up to ISCED level 4) and 59 % attended tertiary education (ISCED levels 5 and 6), whereas 3.4 % were in non-formal education. In total, in the EU-27, 39 % of the population aged between 18 and 24 had in 2009 not begun their transition towards employment, i.e. they were only in education without being employed, even for one hour a week. In comparison, 29 % were already exclusively in employment.

A ‘simple transition’ model suggests that young people study and start working after completing their highest level of education. In such a model, persons rarely combine education with employment.

In nearly all European countries, most young persons who were exclusively in education were attending tertiary education. The picture was different in Denmark, Germany, Luxembourg, Malta, Finland and Sweden, where more than 50 % were still in upper-secondary education or post-secondary non-tertiary education. This reflects the existence of different educational systems. In Sweden, for example, Kommunal Vuxenutbildning / Folkhogskola (ISCED level 3 or 4) begins at age 19 and may end after the age of 21. Among the 39 % of young Europeans who were exclusively in education, a number may have been looking for a job to increase their income, while others, who graduated earlier, may have undertaken new studies (either formal or non-formal) because they did not succeed in finding a job but still expect to do so. Students looking for a job (either unemployed or passive job seekers) accounted for more than 10 % of young people exclusively in education in the Nordic countries, the United Kingdom, Spain, the Netherlands, Latvia, Austria and Switzerland.

16.5 % of 18-24-year-olds combined education and employment

In 2009, 6.9 million young Europeans aged 1824 were combining education and employment (for one hour a week or more). In this respect, strong discrepancies were found between European countries. In two fifths of the Member States, less than 10 % of young people combined education with employment (see Figure 4). Young persons combining education and employment can be divided into two broad categories. The first category includes those with a temporary contract covering a period of training. This is for instance the case of apprentices or trainees. The second category comprises people with other types of contracts (permanent job or temporary contract for reasons other than training). In this latter category, young persons may work part-time (less than 30 hours a week) or full-time. In Belgium, Italy, Slovakia, Romania and Hungary, combining education and employment was rare, as less than 5 % of the age class were in this situation. In Poland, Estonia, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Slovenia and Austria, between 14 % and 25 % of the age group combined employment with education. Combining studies and work was far more common in Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland, Norway, Iceland and Switzerland, with over 25 % of young people in this situation. This proportion stood above 35 % in Denmark, the Netherlands and Iceland. At EU level, 15 % of young people aged 18-24 combined education and employment. In this age group, 5 % were in temporary contracts covering a period of training such as apprenticeships (mainly at upper-secondary level) while, 10 % were in part-time or full-time employment with no relation to their educational programme. The situation was also contrasted in countries where combining education and employment is widespread: in Germany (e.g. Berufsfachschule) and Switzerland, more than 20 % of the age class were in temporary contracts covering a period of training, whereas in Denmark, the Netherlands, Iceland and Norway young persons in education usually spent less than 30 hours a week in employment. The time spent by students in employment provides a broad approximation of the intensity of these two activities in young people’s lives. Those who usually spend more than 30 hours a week at work probably have less time to study than those who work fewer hours a week. Thus, the former may be qualified as ‘workers studying’ whereas the latter may be considered as ‘students working’. In 2009, the proportion of ‘workers studying’ accounted for slightly over 10 % of the population in the Netherlands, Slovenia, the United Kingdom, Finland, Denmark, Estonia and Iceland.

29 % of the population aged 18-24 was already exclusively in employment

In 2009, the EU-27 counted around 12.2 million young persons aged 18-24 exclusively in employment. In most European countries, they accounted for between 19 % (Slovenia) and 46 % (Malta) of the age class.

Being in employment does not automatically mean that young people have jobs matching their qualifications or desires. Moreover, as they may join the labour market at a young age, newcomers to the labour market may not have a sufficient education level to take up the challenges of the knowledge-based economy .

In 2009, more than 30 % of the population aged 18-24 was exclusively in employment in Malta, Cyprus, Austria, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Ireland, Romania and the Czech Republic.

Nearly 16 % of the population aged 18-24 was neither in employment nor in education

In 2009, the EU-27 counted around 6.8 million young persons aged 18-24 neither in employment, education or training (NEET). Although some of them become inactive after leaving school for family or other personal reasons, these young persons are of particular interest to policy-makers. Indeed, most of them can presumably be considered as facing difficulties in finding a job or as being at risk of not finding one.

At EU level, 9 % of 18-24-year-olds were no longer in education and actively looking for a job (unemployed), and 7 % were considered as ‘inactive’ (see Figure 6). Among the latter category, a very small proportion are considered as ‘passive job seekers’, i.e. looking for a job but not complying with all the conditions to be considered as unemployed according to the ILO definition. The highest proportions of young persons aged 18-24 neither in employment nor in education who were actively seeking work (i.e. unemployed) were found in Spain, Latvia, Ireland, Estonia, Slovakia, France, the United Kingdom and Greece (ranging from 15.5 % to 10 %). This share stood above 25 % in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. The ‘inactive’ category accounted for a large share of young persons neither in employment nor in education in Bulgaria, Italy and Turkey. Among personal reasons, family responsibilities were a key reason for not seeking employment among the inactive NEET population. In half of the Member States, looking after children or having other personal or family responsibilities were mentioned as reasons by more than one third of inactive NEET persons aged 18-24.

A strong gender dimension was found in the reasons for not looking for a job among the NEET population. Indeed, at EU level and in numerous Member States, personal reasons and especially family responsibilities explained why a large part of inactive NEET women (51 %) were not looking for a job. These reasons were mentioned by only 9 % of young men. In contrast, the proportion of the inactive NEET population who thought that seeking employment was not worthwhile because of a lack of opportunities was twice as high among young men than among young women.

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Notes

[[Category:<Subtheme category name(s)>|Transition from school to work]] [[Category:<Statistical article>|Transition from school to work]]