Just under three quarters (74.5%) of students in the Netherlands have a job during formal education, the highest percentage in the EU, according to Eurostat data.
According to the 2023 data, which explored the participation of young people (aged 15-29) in education and the labour market, Denmark (52.6%) and Austria (46.2%) also demonstrate high shares of young people that are employed during formal education.
At the other end of the scale, just 2.3% of students in Romania have a job during formal education, as do 5.8% in Slovakia and 6.1% in Hungary.
A quarter of students
Overall, across the European Union, some 25.7% of young people hold a job during formal education, with some 2.9% saying they were available and actively seeking employment.
Some 71.4% of young people remained outside the labour force during formal education, Eurostat‘s data showed.
The highest rates of young people seeking employment were recorded in Sweden (13.8%), Finland (8.3%), and Denmark (6.9%), while Hungary, Czechia, and Poland had less than 1% of students actively seeking work.
Gender differences were also evident in Eurostat’s data. Male students had a lower participation rate in formal education and higher participation in the labour force across all age groups. Female students, meanwhile, were more likely to be outside the labour force, particularly in the 20-24 age group, and also showed higher rates of being outside both education and the labour force, especially among those aged 25-29. Read more here.
Percentage of students that have a job while in formal education, by EU member state (2023, %)
| Country | Employed (%) | Unemployed (%) | Outside the Labour Force (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | 74.5% | 6.8% | 18.8% |
| Denmark | 52.6% | 6.9% | 40.5% |
| Finland | 42.9% | 8.3% | 48.9% |
| Austria | 46.2% | 2.9% | 51.0% |
| Germany | 45.4% | 2.0% | 52.6% |
| Sweden | 32.2% | 13.8% | 53.9% |
| Ireland | 38.5% | 4.4% | 57.2% |
| Malta | 35.2% | N/A | 61.9% |
| Estonia | 29.4% | 4.9% | 65.7% |
| France | 24.1% | 3.3% | 72.7% |
| Slovenia | 23.0% | 1.9% | 75.0% |
| Luxembourg | 19.7% | 4.8% | 75.5% |
| Spain | 15.9% | 4.7% | 79.4% |
| Cyprus | 17.7% | 2.8% | 79.6% |
| Lithuania | 17.7% | 1.5% | 80.8% |
| Latvia | 17.2% | 1.4% | 81.4% |
| Belgium | 15.6% | 2.4% | 81.9% |
| Poland | 14.2% | 0.9% | 84.9% |
| Portugal | 11.7% | 2.9% | 85.4% |
| Czechia | 8.7% | 0.8% | 90.5% |
| Italy | 7.6% | 1.1% | 91.3% |
| Croatia | 7.6% | N/A | 92.1% |
| Greece | 6.4% | 1.3% | 92.3% |
| Bulgaria | 6.5% | N/A | 93.3% |
| Hungary | 6.1% | 0.4% | 93.5% |
| Slovakia | 5.8% | N/A | 94.0% |
| Romania | 2.3% | N/A | 97.3% |
