Being a young European is increasingly difficult

Older people saw the worst of Covid-19 — so far. But Europe’s young people are likely to feel the fallout from the pandemic for years to come.

According to the latest Eurostat data available, the European Union averages 16.9 percent youth unemployment overall (youth unemployment measures unemployment among 15-24 year olds who are seeking work).

At 20.8 perncet Slovakia’s youth unemployment rate is nearly three times its overall unemployment rate (and youth unemployment nearly doubles the Czech Republic’s 10.8 percent). Southern Europe is the worst affected (Spain, 39.9 percet; Greece 34 percent; Italy, 29.7 percent; Portugal, 24.6 percent), but there are also plenty of stereotypically wealthy places with shockingly high youth unemployment: Sweden (24.1 percent), Luxembourg (22 percent) and Finland (21.6 percent).