4 pct. of Dutch young people not working, studying; lowest in EU

Last year 4 percent of Dutch young people between the ages of 15 and 25 were not working or studying - the lowest percentage of all European Union Member States, Statistics Netherlands reported on Monday.

The European average for young people that are unemployed and not studying was 12 percent in 2016. No EU figures for 2017 are available yet. According to the stats office, the percentage of unemployed young people who are also not studying in the Netherlands has been around 5 percent for years. The EU average was also pretty much stable over the past years.

Last year a total of 84 thousand young people in the Netherlands had no work and were not involved in studies. About 40 percent of them indicated that they could not or did not want to work. Illness or occupational disability were the most common reasons. Another fifth were not available to start work immediately, or hadn't looked for work recently, which means that they are not considered unemployed. Six percent indicated that they could not work because they have to care for the family or household.

Nearly a third of non-working and non-studying young people were actively looking for work and immediately available last year. The in- and out-flow of this group in employment is high, according to the stats office. A third found paid work or started studying within three months.