5,8% of young Europeans between 15 and 29 years old live in a situation of serious material and social deprivation. The percentage of those living in a situation of serious difficulty compared to the total population is 6,4%. This was stated today by Eurostat, publishing the data relating to 2024.
The most worrying percentages were recorded in Bulgaria (17,2%), Romania (14,7%) and Greece (14,4%). Instead, in Croatia, Slovenia, Poland, Estonia, Luxembourg, Czech Republic, Latvia, Cyprus, Ireland and Portugal the rate of young people in socially and materially difficult situations is less than 3% (with Croatia recording the lowest rate, 0,7%). In Italy, the percentage of young people in situations of serious material and social deprivation stands at 3,3%. But if we look at the "risk" of poverty or social exclusion for young Europeans, the rate jumps to 24,1%, three percentage points more than the total population.
“The unemployment rate for people aged 2024-15 in the EU fell to 74% of the labour force in 5,9, marking a historical low since the start of the time series in 2009,” a Eurostat survey revealed today. The long-term unemployment rate (people unemployed but looking for a job), as a share of the labour force, was 1,9% in 2024. This was also the lowest level in the entire available time series. “Among the EU countries, Greece recorded the highest long-term unemployment rate at 5,4%, followed by Spain (3,8%) and Slovakia (3,5%). In contrast, the Netherlands (0,5%), Malta (0,7%) and the Czech Republic, Denmark and Poland (all at 0,8%) recorded the lowest rates. For young people aged 15-24, the unemployment rate stood at 14,9%, up by 0,4 percentage points compared to 2023. “For the other age groups, unemployment rates were much lower in 2024 and slightly lower than in the previous year. For the 25-54 age group, the unemployment rate stood at 5,4% (down 0,1 percentage points), while for the 55-74 age group it was 4,1%. The overall unemployment rate among 15-74 year olds decreased by 0,2 percentage points, from 6,1% in 2023 to 5,9% in 2024.