Nearly one in four young people in the European Union are balancing work alongside their studies, highlighting a growing trend of early engagement with the labour market.

In 2024, 25.4% of Europeans aged 15 to 29 were employed while enrolled in formal education, according to data from the EU Labour Force Survey. The majority of young people—71.4%—remained outside the labour force while studying, while a smaller share, 3.2%, were unemployed but actively seeking work.

Student employment varies sharply across EU countries. The Netherlands stands out, with nearly three-quarters (74.3%) of young people combining work and education. Denmark (56.4%) and Germany (45.8%) also report high levels of student employment. At the opposite end of the spectrum, fewer than one in ten young people work while studying in Romania (2.4%), Greece (6.0%) and Croatia (6.4%).

Unemployment among students also shows notable national differences. Sweden recorded the highest share of young people in education who were unemployed and actively seeking work (14.1%), followed by Finland (10.0%) and Denmark (9.6%). In contrast, Romania (0.6%) and Croatia, Czechia and Hungary (each 0.8%) reported the lowest levels, with less than 1% of students looking for a job.

Gender gaps emerge as young people age

Labour market participation differs significantly by age and gender. Among teenagers aged 15 to 19, education remains the primary focus: 74.4% of young women and 70.4% of young men are outside the labour force while studying.

The picture changes in the 20–24 age group, where many begin to combine education with paid work. In this group, 19.6% of women and 17.0% of men were employed while studying, while the share of those outside the labour force fell to 30.9% for women and 24.8% for men.

By the ages of 25 to 29, most young people have moved firmly into the labour market. Employment rates reached 62.0% for women and 71.9% for men. However, women were more likely than men to be outside the labour force and not in education, with 16.2% classified as inactive compared with 6.9% of men.

Overall, the data show that young women tend to stay in education longer than men. Yet once they leave formal education, they are less likely to be employed or actively seeking work, reflecting persistent gender gaps in labour market participation across the EU. Photo by Vysoka skola ekonomicka v praze, Wikimedia commons.