Young people who are neither studying nor working are described in international and European statistics by the acronym NEETs — Not in Employment, Education or Training.
NEET rates among young people are considered equally if not more critical than youth unemployment, as they reflect the difficulties of transitioning from education and training into employment.
Eurobank’s new newsletter “7 Days Economy” examines the evolution of the NEET phenomenon in Greece, in the 15–29 age group.
As Eurobank research economist Konstantinos Peppas explains, this broader demographic group is chosen instead of the 15–24 age category precisely because the duration of studies has lengthened, and with it the age of entry into the labor market has risen.
The paradox is that in Greece, the highest NEET rates are found among young people with tertiary education, while in Europe the exact opposite holds true. It is confirmed once again: young people with qualifications are not lacking — what we need are good jobs.
Divergence from the EU
Following a prolonged economic crisis that sent youth unemployment soaring, employment indicators in Greece are recovering, and NEET rates are declining along with them.
Despite the improvement, Greece still has a noticeably higher share of 15–29 year-olds outside employment, education or training than the European average, in the range of 14.2% vs. 11.1%. This is the fourth highest rate in the EU-27, after Romania, Italy and Lithuania. It also remains far from the EU’s target of reducing NEETs to 9% by 2030.
As the report notes, keeping NEET rates at high levels constrains economic productivity and increases the risk of human capital drain. It also has adverse social consequences, raising the risk of poverty and marginalization and widening inequalities.
The Revolving Doors of Employment and Unemployment
The Eurobank analysis acknowledges that the transition from education to work has grown more complex over time.
Young people change jobs more frequently; many study while working part-time or seasonally (on islands and tourist resorts in summer). Also common is the phenomenon of “interrupted studies,” with working young people returning to education or training in order to improve their qualifications and skills and pursue better career prospects and earnings.
The dividing lines between work and unemployment, and between studying and not studying, are becoming increasingly blurred. As working conditions become more flexible and the labor market more deregulated, young people move in and out of categories — part employed, part unemployed, part student, part NEET.
The Crisis Years
In 2013, at the peak of the economic crisis, young NEETs in Greece had reached the staggering rate of 28.5% of the 15–29 population.
Graduates were hit the hardest. As the Eurobank report notes, young people completing their studies and seeking to enter the labor market find employment harder to come by, since hiring is significantly curtailed during recessions. Repeated failure in job searching leads gradually to discouragement and the “freezing” of the job search process, and ultimately to exiting the workforce altogether.
The Greek Paradox: High Education, Low Absorption
Perhaps the most striking finding of the report is that in Greece, most NEETs come from the middle and especially the higher tiers of education — while in the EU, the opposite is true.
“The most significant difference from the EU-27 is that in Greece, the category showing the highest rate of 15–29 year-olds neither working nor participating in formal or informal education is those with a high level of education, whereas in the EU-27 this group has the lowest rates.”
Greece’s Productive Model “Punishes” Graduates
Greece’s productive model continues to drive brain drain. The report highlights an oversupply of university graduates combined with limited demand for highly specialized positions, as the country’s productive structure remains oriented toward low- and medium-skilled sectors.
In other words, young people earn degrees and qualifications only to end up as baristas, waiters and sales clerks, or working for wages far lower than those of peers with equivalent qualifications in other EU countries.
The conclusion is clear: Greece needs a change in its development model, not only to broaden its productive base, but to stop being a Cronus-like country that devours its own children, or clips their wings before they can fly.
