While Greek youth unemployment has recorded a notable drop in the past two years, the country ranks among the top EU member-states regarding young people (aged between 15-29) neither in employment nor in education or training (NEET), according to the EU’s statistical authority (Eurostat).
The data, covering 2023, revealed that young Greek men were the worst in the whole EU recording a NEET rate of 14.8%, while Romania scored the worst for young women with a 24.8% rate. In the overall ranking (men and women) Greece ranked 3rd among the EU27.
The lowest NEET rates for young men and women were both in the Netherlands: 4.0% for young men and 5.6% for young women.
The Netherlands (4.8%), Sweden (5.7%), Malta (7.5%), Slovenia (7.8%), Luxembourg (8.5%), Ireland (8.5%), Denmark (8.6%), Germany (8.8%) and Portugal (8.9%) were the countries with the best overall (male and female) rates. The EU 2030 target has been set at 9%.
The data showed that in 2023, more than one in ten (11.2%) young people aged 15 to 29 in the EU were neither in employment nor in education or training (NEET), a decrease of 0.5 percentage points (pp) compared with 2022.
Greek youth unemployment is one of the most persistent issues plaguing the country, with the jobless rate consistently ranking in the top three in the EU, registering 22.5% in 2023, according to seasonally adjusted Eurostat figures based on national statistical data.
