Charts in Focus: EU Youth Unemployment Shaping the Lost Generation

European Union youth unemployment has hit record highs but, according to the latest research, any government schemes to stem jobless rates will fail due to lack of cash to fund them.

There are currently 5.7 million 16 to 24-year-olds out-of-work in Europe - a rate of 23.5% - as government austerity and a sovereign debt crisis brings national economies to their knees across the region [Fig 1.]

The economic crisis in Europe has been driving up unemployment and the young generation is the worst hit (last in, first out). Societe Generale (SG) research says job prospects of young people in the peripheral countries are poor and this raises the risk of a jobless generation [Fig 2.]

The youth unemployment rate is at a record level and more than twice as high as the adult one. There are also large discrepancies within Europe [Fig 3.]

SG adds that curbing youth unemployment is all the more important as "hysteresis effects already exist - people who begin their careers without job are likely to have lower wages and greater odds of future joblessness than those who don't" [Fig 4.]

The European Commission recommends that EU countries introduce a youth guarantee scheme but the aim is that EU funding and common initiatives will start from January 2014; once European policymakers agree on how the money should be spent [Fig 5.]