The Netherlands has a youth unemployment rate of only 12,7 percent, which is one of the lowest in the entire EU.

In the 28 countries of the European Union, unemployment among 15- to 24-year-olds was 22 percent in 2014 according to a recent EU publication.

The lack of prospects in the job market for young people is a serious problem in large parts of the EU. The highest unemployment rates are found in the south of Europe.

Spain has the highest rate, with half of 15- to 24-year-olds out of work. In Portugal, Cyprus, Italy, Croatia and Greece a little more than one in three people in this age group are out of work.

Unemployment higher among school-leavers

In the Netherlands, three-quarters of all unemployed young people are still in education. Proportionally, this is three times higher than the EU average.

In Europe, unemployment among 15- to 24-year-olds still in education is much lower than that among their peers who aren't studying. These figures are 16 and 25 percent, respectively.

In the Netherlands, the rates for the two groups hardly differ. In 2014, 13 percent of students and 11 percent of school-leavers were unemployed.

In the countries with high unemployment rates, the share of unemployed young people still in education is generally far below the EU average of 24 percent.

Source: CBS

Spain and Portugal are exceptions in this respect, with 29 percent and 23 percent of unemployed 15- to 24-year-olds still in school. These percentages are a lot lower in Croatia, Italy, Greece and Cyprus.

Comparing the Netherlands to Europe

In the 2016 publication "The Netherlands on the European Scale", the Dutch Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) illustrates how the Netherlands is doing compared to the other 27 EU member states.

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