According to recent data from the European labour force survey, the share of young people not in employment, education, or training (NEET) saw an upwards turn in 2020. The Czech Republic has the lowest rate of NEETs among young men in the European Union (5%), but also the highest gender gap in the EU by this measure (25%). Photo Credit: KK – BD.
Czech Rep., Jul 27 (BD) – According to recent data from the EU labour force survey, in 2020, over one in six young adults (aged 20 to 34) in the EU were neither in employment, education, or training (NEET).
Young Adults neither in Employment nor in Education and Training in the EU. Credit: Eurostat
In 2020, the share of NEETs among young people saw the first upward turn since 2013. The change was due to the economic downturn related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and was similar in all age categories of young people included in the study.
For the whole period from 2008-2020, the proportion of NEETs among 20-24 year olds remained lower than those aged 24-34, reflecting the students who remained in education and training at this age.
In all EU member states, young women are more likely to be NEET, with an EU-wide average of just over 20% among women aged 20-34. The corresponding figure for young men was just under 15%.
Young Adults neither in Employment nor in Education and Training, by Sex, 2020. Credit: Eurostat
Italy recorded the highest NEET rates for both men and women, at 24% and 35% respectively.
The Czech Republic had the lowest NEET rates for young men in the European Union, at just over 5% followed by the Netherlands. However, this good news was balanced by a large gender gap observable between young men and women; nearly 30% of young Czech women are NEET, the largest gender gap in the EU of around 25%, followed by Hungary and Slovakia (20%). The lowest gender gaps were in Portugal (0.5%) and Lithuania (1.0%).
