Youth unemployment

About a month ago, Yoana Georgieva finished a paid internship with the European Commission in Brussels. She's now unemployed and looking for a job. Although she has a few months of real work experience in addition to her internship, things are still difficult on the job market.

"Beginner positions are either not well paid or they're already looking for someone with experience," she told DW.

Her story is not unique. On average, 22 percent of young people in the European Union are out of work. Spain has the worst situation, with almost 50 percent unemployment amongst the younger generation. Across the EU, youth joblessness is about twice as high as overall unemployment.

The internship is the new graduate job

While there may not be many jobs, internships abound in most European nations.

"Among my friends, there are so many people who have done four or five internships," said a 24-year-old trainee at the European Parliament in Brussels, who preferred not to give her name. "They have years of experience. And then when they actually apply for a job, the internships are not counted as work experience in many cases."

Young people and experts generally agree that internships are increasingly replacing entry-level jobs. The main reason for this trend is clear: It saves businesses huge amounts of money in wage costs.

EU heads of state discuss

Youth joblessness was on the agenda when the EU heads of state and government met recently in Brussels. At the meeting, member states were requested to prepare national job plans, including providing a youth guarantee, which will ensure young people have a job or are in training within four months of leaving school.

The president of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, explained that countries with high youth unemployment will get special attention. "The Commission will establish action teams for member states with above-average youth unemployment - namely, the eight countries that are more affected by this problem," he said.

There is general concern, however, that the 22 billion euros ($29 billion) set aside for the project are not enough to make a difference. Barroso admitted this is just a quick fix that cannot replace long-term reforms.

Analysts advise that when considering changes, it's useful to look at the EU countries with the lowest youth unemployment: Germany, Austria and the Netherlands. Ilaria Maselli of the Cener for European Policy Studies in Brussels says that the better youth employment figures in Germany are due to the healthy economic situation there, in comparison to the rest of Europe.

"In Austria and the Netherlands, it's more a matter of the institutions," she explained. "They have labor market systems that are very friendly both to employers and the employees."

An uncertain future

Experts warn that prolonged joblessness at a young age can lead to lower incomes over the longer term. It also delays career advancement and adulthood.

For the unnamed intern at the European Parliament in Brussels, career stagnation is already a reality. "We're so insecure about our future that we don't even think about things that people at our age used to think about," she told DW.

Maselli isn't particularly optimistic either: "There's lots of pessimism in the air. My main fear is that these figures will remain more or less the same for at least 2012."

Author: Yaldaz Sadakova / al
Editor: Kate Bowen