London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Jul 30, 2025

The race to stop Europe’s young and jobless from becoming a ‘lost generation’

The race to stop Europe’s young and jobless from becoming a ‘lost generation’

The pandemic has caused unemployment to rise throughout Europe. The under 29's have been particularly affected and are now having to compete with the newly unemployed with more experience. We take a look at what the EU is doing to improve employment for young people. #Realeconomy

As Europe’s economy shrinks following the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic, youth unemployment is on the rise. There are now 3.1 million young people aged 15-24 unable to find a job.

The number of NEETS (not in education, employment, or training) aged 15-29 ,which includes those not actively looking for work, is at 9.6 million.

EU Commissioner for Employment and Social Rights, Nicolas Schmit, says they are determined to prevent the same impact on young people that followed the financial crisis.

"We are just coming out of a period where we had a lost generation due to the financial and then an economic crisis" he says, adding "We have to prevent the new lost generation."



European solutions


The European Commission has adopted the Youth Employment Support Programme with an investment of at least 22 billion euros over the next seven years. It follows a previous investment of 22 billion euros over the past seven years to get young people into work through vocational training and apprenticeships.

Tremplin is a program in the Brussels region, funded by the European Social Fund. The Fund has a budget of € 18 million, over 7 years and 10,000 18-25 year-olds have benefited from.

Baggio's case


25-year-old Baggio used to be an electrician. But now he has completed training with Tremplin to become a roofer. He is on a youth-employment contract and hopes that this new profession will increase his income. He says he is confident he'll find work, as roofing is a job that's in demand in his region.

A 25-year-old former electrician training to become a roofer


On top of Baggio's new positive employment prospects, he also enjoys the work. He told us that "it's really meticulous and frankly pleasant work to do".

Gamze's case


19-year-old Gamze is another person who has thrived under the Tremplin programme. She is currently doing an internship in a shop which she got after training for 4 months. She tells us that she graduated from secondary school last year and didn't really know what to do. It caused her a lot of anxiety.

E-commerce trainee


After the pandemic occurred, more shops started going digital and e-commerce grew. She says that's what pushed her towards that field. She is learning how to look after online sales, manage stock, orders and social media at her internship. She even has a job interview lined up.

Across the Brussels region, the number of job seekers under the age of 25 has increased by almost 8% compared to last year and the youth unemployment rate has reached 25%. However Gamze and Baggio say they have new hope that their professional dreams can still come true.


U Commissioner for Employment and Social Rights


The Youth Employment Support package (YES) financed by the European Social Fund+ and other EU funds includes a guarantee that all those who sign up will receive an offer of a job, an apprenticeship, education, or training within four months.

Financial investment in training


Despite EU plans to invest at least 22 billion euros to support youth employment, some think it is not enough. Guntram Wolff is an economist and director of the Bruegel think-tank. He tells us that he wants to see more done. According to him, "you clearly also need national support for the young generation. The sad truth is youth unemployment doesn’t go down so quickly".

Economist and Director of Bruegel think-tank


He compares the pandemic to the last financial crisis where it took between 5 to 10 years to get back to the 2009 levels of youth unemployment. For him, the issue of how "youth is affected by the pandemic is something that needs to be on top of policy makers’ minds".

Nicolas Schmit explains that 22 billion is "an indicative figure". He tells us that it's not just 22 billion and that's it, "we have a lot of other funding now through the Recovery and Resilience Facility, so we have to use a lot of this money to create jobs and also to bring the young into these jobs".

The EU Commissioner for Employment and Social Rights states that there are jobs to be had in the EU, but that sometimes "education profiles do not match with the requirements of these jobs and therefore we have to react rapidly". He says "we have to give these young people perhaps some additional training, additional education, reorientation for the jobs which exist".

The pandemic has exacerbated youth unemployment problems in Europe. There are fewer work opportunities and young people are competing with unemployed people with more experience. The pressure is on to prevent a whole generation from being left behind.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Former Judge Charged After Drunk Driving Crash Kills Comedian in Brazil
Jeff Bezos hasn’t paid a dollar in taxes for decades. He makes billions and pays $0 in taxes, LEGALLY
China Increases Use of Exit Bans Amid Rising U.S. Tensions
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Procter & Gamble to Raise U.S. Prices to Offset One‑Billion‑Dollar Tariff Cost
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
Botswana Seeks Controlling Stake in De Beers as Anglo American Prepares Exit
Trump Administration Proposes Repeal of Obama‑Era Endangerment Finding, Dismantling Regulatory Basis for CO₂ Emissions Limits
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
The British propaganda channel BBC News lies again.
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
×