ABSTRACT

Unemployment, especially of young people is a central concern of the European Union, in rural areas as elsewhere. This is not surprising, given that youth unemployment in the EU affects 6% of the total population aged 15–19, and 13.7% of those aged 20–24. There are, however, wide variations across member states. For example, Germany and Austria have rates below 6%, whereas Finland’s unemployment rate for the 20–24 age group is 17% (https://europa.eu.int/comm.dg05/empl&esf7naps/naps_en.htm). While labour markets are not the only important dimension of social inclusion, they are the primary focus of this project.