ABSTRACT
There is a widespread evidence of youth unemployment in Europe in recent decades: according to the most recent Eurostat data, over 50 per cent in Greece and Spain, over 30 per cent in Bulgaria, Italy, Portugal and Slovakia, and a European average of 22 per cent. Many explanations can be found for these stylized facts: the general situation of the labour market, education and training systems, labour market and employment policies, the stratification and distribution of opportunities in society, and certainly the global financial and economic crisis of 2007–10. One of the most worrisome features of the European young population is the large share of people who are neither in education nor in employment or training (NEET) and can remain in such a status for a long time.
