Which countries perform best and why?

Abstract

This chapter examines countries' performance regarding youth unemployment. Although the labour market situation of young people has started to improve in a number of countries since the Great Recession of 2007–8, youth unemployment still remains very high across Europe. High youth unemployment rates reflect young people's difficulties in securing employment, or the inefficiency of the labour market. Germany and the Netherlands have established the most effective institutions to achieve a high integration of 15–19 year-olds in education and employment. Indeed, both Germany and the Netherlands are amongst the highest performing countries in the EU for making sure their young people are in employment. Austria and Denmark also achieve good youth labour market and employment outcomes. Meanwhile, countries like France and the UK try to facilitate school-to-work (STW) transitions by lowering labour costs through subsidies or low employment protection.