Report:Youth unemployment phenomenon on the rise in Romania, dedicated social & economic policy needed 

According to December 2024 Eurostat data, Romania has become the EU country with the highest unemployment rate among young people under 25 (26.3%), surpassing states such as Spain and Greece where youth unemployment has been a constant problem, shows the Social Monitor, a project of the Friedrich Ebert Romania Foundation."The figures show that there is a need for a national social and economic policy specifically dedicated to young people, which should address both school dropout issues and the quality of education, introducing financial support measures for students and teachers where needed, as well as looking at youth skills and employability, and adapting the school curriculum to the needs of the labor market. In parallel, there is also a need for a public communication campaign that would appease the employers' reluctance to recruit young people under 25," the cited source said.According to a release of the organization, Romania's unemployment rate across all age brackets was relatively low in December 2024, at 5.7% of the active population, slightly below the European average of 5.8%, and much lower than in countries such as Spain (10.6%), Greece (9.3%), Finland (8.7%), Sweden (8.6%), or Estonia (7.8%). Countries with a lower unemployment rate are the Czech Republic (2.6%), Poland (2.7%) and Malta (3%)."Yet the situation is completely different among young people under 25. At this category, Romania tops the European charts in December 2024, with an unemployment rate of 26.3%, followed by countries where unemployment is generally high, such as Spain (25.2%), Sweden (23.5%) or Greece (22.5%), whereas the EU average youth unemployment rate is 14.6%. Hungary is immediately below the EU average with 14.4% of its active young people being unemployed, and Bulgaria is next with 9.6%," notes the Social Monitor."Romania has always had a high youth unemployment rate, exceeding the EU average since 2007, when it became a member state. However, this is the first time that Romania is on the first position, the countries most seriously affected by youth unemployment being in general Spain, Greece, and Italy, but there the situation of young people has progressively improved. Poland also faced this problem until 2014, when the rate fell below the EU average. In comparison, Germany's youth unemployment rate has always been below the European average," the document also states.Romania also scored poorly by the NEET indicator which shows the share of youth under 29 "Not in Education, Employment, or Training" - having the highest rate in the EU in 2024 (19.4%) compared to the European average of 11%, the document also notes.