The percentage of young people aged 20 to 24 that are not in formal education or employment has risen in Germany, according to new data from the federal statistics office (Destatis).
According to the data, some 10% of people in this cohort were outside education or employment last year, up from 8.8% in 2022.
‘The proportion has risen slightly but steadily in Germany in recent years,’ Destatis noted.
Despite the increase, Germany remained below the EU average of 12.9%. The Netherlands had the lowest rate at 5.6%, followed by Sweden at 7.3% and the Czech Republic at 7.6%. At the other end of the scale, Romania recorded the highest rate at 22.8%, followed by Bulgaria at 17.3% and France at 16.2%.
Other findings
The proportion of German women in this cohort was slightly higher, at 10.5%, compared to 9.6% among young men. This compares to EU averages of 13.2% for women and 12.5% for men.
‘In almost two out of three EU member states, young women were more affected than young men,’ the statistics body said.
Young people in larger German cities were also more likely to be affected, with a rate of 10.6%, compared with 7.9% in rural areas. This differs from the EU average, where young people in rural areas (15.4%) were significantly more likely to be affected than those in larger cities (11.5%).
National education report
According to Germany’s 2024 national education report, a quarter (25%) of 20- to 24-year-olds who were not in education or employment were looking for work and were classified as unemployed. A further 66% were not available to the labour market and were classified as economically inactive. Another 6% were due to begin an apprenticeship or university course, while 4% were preparing to start a new job.
Among economically-inactive young people, 20% cited caregiving responsibilities as a reason for their status, while 18% cited health limitations. A further 17% were not looking for work for education-related reasons, potentially because they were waiting for a place in higher education or vocational training. Read more here.
