Youths aged 15-24 in Cyprus are ranked at half the EU average on entering the job market, either through working, seeking employment or taking part in internship programmes, according to Eurostat, the EU’s statistical service.
According to a Eurostat press release, the transition from education to the job market takes place at a different pace for each member-state, mainly due to varying educational systems and knowledge, but also other factors, such as the job market particularities of each country and the local culture. In certain states, youths start working much earlier than others, either during their studies or taking part in traineeships.
18.4% of youths in the EU worked in parallel with their studies in 2020, while 2.5% of the same age group remained in the educational system while actively seeking work.
In comparison to 2019, the number of people who worked in parallel with their studies in this specific age group dropped by 3% (from 6.1 to 5.9 million), while the number of those studying while also actively seeking work, increased by 16% (from 0.7 to 0.8 million).
According to Eurostat estimates (noting that the Cyprus figures in relation to the employment percentage are of low credibility), the percentage of students in the country who were in the job market for 2020, was half the EU average. About 90% of the aforementioned age group was neither employed, nor actively seeking work.
The Netherlands was the country with the highest rate of the 15-24 age group working in parallel with their studies (57.8%), followed by Denmark (45.8%), Germany (38.7%) and Austria (35.2%). The lowest percentages in this age group were recorded in Croatia and Hungary (3.3%), Italy (3.0%), Slovakia and Romania (2.5%).
The highest rate of students aged 15-24 that were considered unemployed (as they were actively seeking work in parallel with their studies), was recorded in Sweden (12.1%), followed by Finland (9.5%), Denmark and the Netherlands (6.3%). On the other end of the scale, in Slovenia, Italy, Romania, the Czech Republic and Croatia, less than 1% of students were actively seeking work.
9 out of 10 people (89.5%) in the EU aged 15-19 were continuing their studies in 2020, according to the latest Eurostat data. The percentage of youth in education is however lower in the higher age groups: specifically 49.5% of the 20-24 group, 14.4% of the 25-29 group and 4.8% of the 30-34 age group were studying during 2020.