While unemployment as a whole in the European Union (EU) remained stable in December (7.5%) and even declined slightly since September, the figures for young people (under 25) are deteriorating.
According to statistics published on Monday by Eurostat, the youth unemployment rate reached 17.8% in the EU and 18.5% in the nineteen euro area countries;
that is, for the two sets, three more points in one year.
In less abstract terms, this means that 353,000 young people have joined the ranks of job seekers in the Monetary Union since December 2019. They are in total 2.6 million in the euro area.
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It is in Spain that their situation is the most alarming, with a rate of more than 40% among those under 25 (16% for the whole population), up 10 points compared to the pre-pandemic situation. .
The statistics reflect the fact that Spain is the country which in 2020 will have suffered the most severe recession on the Old Continent.
In Italy, youth unemployment is close to 30% and in France, again according to Eurostat, it reached 23.4% in December.
Germany can be proud of having the lowest rate among those under 25 (6.1%).
Overall, the number of job seekers has remained relatively stable in recent months.
This "
reflects, once again, the extent of job protection by various government policies
," comments Jessica Hinds, of Capital Economics.
Hiring intentions are stagnant and the Capital Economics expert joins many of her colleagues who predict an increase in unemployment in the first quarter.