Self-rated health among young Europeans not in employment, education or training—with a focus on the conventionally unemployed and the disengaged

Abstract

NEET is an acronym for Not in Employment, Education or Training. For the year 2010, it is estimated that 12.5% of all young people aged 15–24 in the OECD countries could be categorised as NEETs. Within this group, various subgroups of NEET are identified. Our study, which was conducted using cross-sectional data collected through the European Social Survey, focuses on the category of people who are assumed to be most marginalised and inactive: “the disengaged.” Participants in the study were men and women aged 18–30, originating from 33 European countries. The results show that disengaged NEETs reported poorer health than both young people who were conventionally unemployed and those in employment or studying. It is also shown that “the disengaged” scored worse on other social and welfare variables, for example, trust and social activity. Being disengaged is discussed in relation to the gross domestic products of the different countries.