Greece holds the third-worst position in the EU regarding youth unemployment and the employment of recent graduates from post-secondary or higher education institutions, according to Eurostat.
An article by TA NEA elaborates that, specifically, only 72.3% of young people aged 20-34 who graduated between 2020 and 2023 were employed in 2023.
Greece also has the fourth-highest youth unemployment rate for those under 25 years old, at 22.5%.
This rate is significantly lower than the EU average, which stands at 83.5%, says TA NEA.
Malta has the highest employment rate for young graduates at 95.8%, followed by the Netherlands at 93.2% and Germany at 91.5%.
Along with Greece, Italy (67.5%) and Romania (74.8%) are also among the three countries with the lowest employment rates for young graduates. In 22 out of 27 EU countries, this rate exceeds 80%.
Over the past decade, there has been a significant increase in the employment rate of recent graduates in the EU.
In 2013, it stood at 74.3%, with an increase over the past ten years reaching nearly 10%. This growth has been steady, with the only exception being a decline in 2020 due to the pandemic.
Concerns Over Youth Unemployment
Greece’s poor performance in this indicator should raise concerns about the critical issue of youth unemployment and the connection between education and the labor market, says TA NEA.
According to data from the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) for the first quarter of 2024, 23.5% of young people aged 20-24 and 20.2% of those aged 25-29 are unemployed.
The unemployment rate for graduates of post-secondary and higher education is 17.1% and 8.3%, respectively.
Compared to other EU countries, Greece has the fourth-highest youth unemployment rate for those under 25 years old, at 22.5%, behind Spain (25.9%), Sweden (23.9%), and Portugal (22.9%).
