Social situation of young people in Europe : 3rd EQLS policy brief.
Date: 2014-05-16
Institutions: Eurofound
Subjects: European social policy, disaffection of young people, marginalisation, quality of life, social participation, young person, youth policy, youth unemployment

� Foundation Findings

Social situation 
of young people 
in Europe

3 rd 

EQLS policy brief

 
When citing this report, please use the following wording: Eurofound (2014), 
Social situation of young people in Europe, Publications Office of the European 
Union, Luxembourg.

The European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions 
(Eurofound) is a tripartite European Union Agency, whose role is to provide knowledge in 
the area of social and work-related policies. Eurofound was established in 1975 by Council 
Regulation (EEC) No. 1365/75, to contribute to the planning and design of better living and 
working conditions in Europe.

© European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, 2014.

For rights of translation or reproduction, applications should be made to the Director, 
European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, Wyattville 
Road, Loughlinstown, Dublin 18, Ireland.
Telephone: (+353 1) 204 31 00
Email: information@eurofound.europa.eu
Web: www.eurofound.europa.eu

EQLS policy briefs

This policy brief highlights findings on a specific topic from Eurofound’s European Quality of 
Life Survey (EQLS) that is of particular interest from a policy perspective. It brings results of 
the analysis of these data together with evidence from other Eurofound projects to formulate 
a number of policy pointers. The focus of this policy brief is the quality of life of young people 
in Europe, focusing on dimensions such as living arrangements, social exclusion, relationships 
and sources of support, as well as participation in society and social/cultural activities. It has 
been prepared by Eszter Sándor and Anna Ludwinek. For further information, contact Eszter 
Sándor, esa@eurofound.europa.eu or Anna Ludwinek, alu@eurofound.europa.eu

ISBN 978-92-897-1147-0

ISSN 1830-8805

doi:10.2806/53038

� Policy context

European policy context

The  European  policy  debate  about  social 
policies for young people has been dominated 
by issues of employment and education (which 
are also addressed in the Europe 2020 targets). 
The economic crisis has affected young people 
particularly  hard,  with  unemployment  and 
inactivity  rates  consistently  higher  than  for 
other  age  groups  in  most  Member  States. 
However, some disadvantaged groups of young 
people  face  exclusion  in  the  longer  term  for 
reasons  beyond  the  current  crisis.  Remaining 
outside  the  labour  market  has  far-reaching 
consequences –  not  solely  economic.  These 
include a loss of confidence, an undermining of 
trust and expectations, and an increasing risk 
of  social  exclusion  and  disengagement  from 
society.

Tackling  youth  unemployment  continues  to 
be a policy priority for European and national 
governments, but the need to directly address 
the risk of social exclusion and the need to look 
at  the  broader  aspects  of  social  inclusion  are 
increasingly  recognised  in  the  public  debate. 
Moreover, the views, priorities and perspectives 
of  young  people  themselves  have  not  been 
sufficiently  considered.  This  report  aims  to 
contribute to the ongoing debate by providing 

an up-to-date, comprehensive overview of the 
situation of young people aged between 18 and 
29 years, based on findings from Eurofound’s 
European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS).

European  policy  on  the  situation  of  young 
people  is  framed  by  the  EU  Youth  Strategy 
2010–2018,  which  has  two  overall  objectives: 
to  provide  more  and  equal  opportunities  for 
young  people  in  education  and  in  the  labour 
market;  and  to  encourage  young  people  to 
be  active  citizens  and  participate  in  society. 
The strategy is centred on eight activity fields, 
many of which reflect a broad social-inclusion 
approach, including voluntary activities, health 
and  well-being  and  participation.  This  policy 
brief provides information on several of these 
dimensions.

The  strategy  is  divided  into  three-year  cycles. 
At the end of each cycle, the EU Youth Report 
(a  joint  report  by  the  European  Commission 
and  the  European  Council)  is  published.  The 
first  of  these  (published  in  September  2012) 
found that since 2009 – due to difficult labour 
market  conditions –  more  young  people  have 
been  involved  in  education  and  fewer  are  in 
work,  while  the  proportion  of  those  not  in 
employment,  education  or  training  (‘NEETs’) 
has  also  increased  (European  Commission, 

3 / Foundation Findings: Social situation of young people in Europe – 3rd EQLS policy brief

� Section 2012). There has been a corresponding increase 
in  the  proportion  of  young  people  at  risk  of 
poverty and social exclusion. The Youth Report 
also suggests that young people are particularly 
vulnerable  when  they  leave  the  parental 
home, and it calls for a greater focus on social 
inclusion, health and well-being in the second 
three-year work cycle of the renewed framework 
(2013–2015).

At the same time, the report concludes that the 
social  participation  of  young  people  has  not 
suffered because of the crisis. This includes their 
interest and participation in political activities – 
some  of  which  is  enabled  by  opportunities 
offered  by  new  media –  and  involvement  in 
voluntary  activities.  Their  participation  in 
cultural  activities  also  remains  high,  again 
partly helped by new technologies.

The EQLS sheds light on many of these areas, 
including  on  the  question  of  whether  more 
young people are living with their parents now 
than in 2007. More importantly, it can be used 
to compare the situation of those who do and 
those  who  do  not  live  at  home.  For  example, 
social exclusion rates for young people may be 
high among those who have not left the family 
home, if they are remaining there involuntarily.

The EQLS also allows for the analysis of young 
people’s social participation, in terms of cultural 
activities, political participation and voluntary 
work.  It  can  provide  details  on  their  personal 
experiences and how they feel about their lives, 
and how has this changed since 2007.

Policy challenges and issues
A  joint  report  on  the  implementation  of  the 
EU  framework  for  cooperation  on  youth 
concludes that in the next three-year cycle of the 
Strategy, particular challenges to be addressed 
are  young  people’s  exclusion,  alienation,  and 
barriers  to  their  independence  and  social 
inclusion (European Commission and European 
Council, 2012). Therefore, one focus of policy 
should  be  on  boosting  social  and  democratic 

participation,  personal  development,  and  the 
sense of belonging to society.

More  recently,  the  Council  of  the  European 
Union  adopted  conclusions  that  focused 
on  enhancing  the  social  inclusion  of  NEETs 
(Council  of  the  European  Union,  2013). 
The  Council  highlights  that  young  people  in 
a NEET situation are at risk of isolation, lacking 
autonomy  and  having  mental  and  physical 
health issues. It acknowledges that programmes 
such  as  youth  work,  voluntary  work,  active 
citizenship  and  non-formal  training  could  be 
useful both in helping young people make the 
transition to the labour market, and in providing 
self-confidence  and  building  social  capital. 
The conclusions call for the Member States to 
further  develop  and  implement  strategies  in 
the  areas  of  prevention,  education,  training, 
non-formal  learning  and  employment.  These 
strategies  should  be  evidence-based,  should 
include all relevant stakeholders and be based 
on holistic and cross-sectoral cooperation.

European Quality of Life Survey
Eurofound’s EQLS is a representative survey of 
those aged 18 and over in Europe, covering all 
EU countries and some acceding, candidate and 
potential candidate countries. The survey aims 
to present a multidimensional picture of quality 
of life in Europe, including questions on both 
the  objective  circumstances  of  people’s  lives 
(such as living conditions, income, deprivation) 
and  their  subjective  feelings  and  perceptions 
(such  as  life  satisfaction  and  feeling  of  social 
exclusion).  Three  waves  of  the  survey  have 
been  carried  out  in  2003,  2007  and  in  2011, 
enabling  comparisons  of  quality  of  life  before 
and after the crisis.

This  report  uses  EQLS  data  to  examine  the 
quality of life of young people in Europe in 2011, 
comparing it with that in 2007. It concentrates in 
particular on their social situation, in particular 
dimensions such as living arrangements, social 
exclusion, relationships and sources of support, 
and  participation  in  society  and  social  and 
cultural activities.

4

� Section Key findings

Î� In 2011 more young people lived with their parents than in 2007, with young men more likely to 

find themselves living with parents.

Î� Both unemployed young people seeking work and inactive young people would like to work if 
they could freely choose their working hours. This includes inactive young mothers and fathers 
looking after their children.

Î� Young people have more face-to-face and phone or email contact with friends and family than 
do older groups. In addition, young people in all life circumstances are more satisfied with their 
life in general, their social life and family life than people in older age groups.

Î� Unemployed  and  inactive  young  people  give  a  comparatively  low  rating  for  their  subjective 

well-being.

Î� Young people are more likely to face moderate levels of deprivation than older groups (not being 
able to afford new furniture, holidays or dinner guests), but less likely to face more severe forms 
of deprivation (in terms of lacking food, heating and new clothes).

Î� Deprivation has increased for young people of all social backgrounds since 2007 in nearly all 
EU countries, especially for those who are living in extended families with their parents and their 
own children; such people are likely to be unable to move out of the family home.

Î� Unemployed and inactive young people are more likely than others to feel socially excluded, to 

feel lonely, to face a lack of social support, and to have lower levels of mental well-being.

Î� Young people are less likely to trust institutions now (in 2014) than they did in 2007 – with the 

exception of the police, whom they trust as much as before.

Î� Young people are more likely than older people to perceive tensions between ethnic or religious 

groups, as well as between groups of different sexual orientation.

5 / Foundation Findings: Social situation of young people in Europe – 3rd EQLS policy brief

� Section � Exploring the issue

Family and living arrangements

In most Member States in the EU28, more young 
people  were  living  with  their  parents  in  2011 
than in 2007, the proportion of 18–29 year-olds 
doing so rising from 44% to 48%.1 As Figure 1 
indicates,  this  increase  is  significant  for  both 

the younger age group (those aged 18–24 years) 
and the older group (aged 25–29), for both men 
and women. Young men are more likely to live 
with their parents than young women, and, as 
expected, those aged below 25 are significantly 
more likely to live with their parents than those 
aged between 25 and 29.

1  The results regarding family and living arrangements are unweighted. Living with a partner’s parents is also counted in the 

proportion living with parents.

6

Figure 1: Living with parents by age and gender, 2007 and 2011 (%)

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

2007

2011

Men

Women

Men

Women

18–24 years 

25–29 years 

Note: All figures and tables refer to 18–29 year-olds in the 28 EU Member States.
Source: EQLS

These  proportions  vary  greatly  by  country  (see 
Figure 2). There were especially large increases 
in  some  countries:  the  greatest  increase  was 
recorded in Hungary (an increase of 36 percentage 
points),  followed  by  Slovenia  (+21  percentage 
points),  Lithuania  (+17  percentage  points)  and 
Poland (+15 percentage points).

The number of young people (aged 18–29) living 
alone  increased  in  some  countries  between 

2007 and 2011  (this  was  the  case  in  Finland, 
the  Netherlands  and  France)  but  decreased 
elsewhere –  especially  in  most  central  and 
eastern European Member States. Meanwhile, 
in most countries, fewer young people live with 
their  own  families  (their  partner  and/or  their 
children) than did so in 2007, although there are 
some exceptions – such as the UK, where there 
has been an increase of 9 percentage points.

7 / Foundation Findings: Social situation of young people in Europe – 3rd EQLS policy brief

Figure 2: Living with parents by country, 2007 and 2011 (%)

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

2007 

2011 

Poland
Bulgaria
Spain
Ireland
Greece
Netherlands
Latvia
Lithuania
EU28
Belgium
Hungary
Denmark
SwedenUK
Germany
France
Estonia
Austria
Luxembourg
Finland
Portugal
Croatia
Romania
Malta
Cyprus
Slovakia
Slovenia
Italy
Czech Republic

Source: EQLS, 2007 and 2011

Note: The EQLS is a sample survey, and these unweighted results reflect proportions in the sample rather than the 
whole population. Official statistics from Eurostat, for young people aged 16–29 years also found a large increase in the 
proportion of young people living with (their own) parents in many countries, especially Hungary (+10 percentage points), 
France (+8 percentage points) and Bulgaria (+7 percentage points).

8

Employment
Youth unemployment rates are generally higher 
than  the  average  unemployment  rate,  and 
the  economic  crisis  affected  the  employment 
participation  of  young  people  more  than  that 
of older age groups (Eurostat, 2013). According 
to  Eurostat  data,  between  2007 and 2011, 
the  EU27  youth  unemployment  rate  (for 
15–24 year-olds), rose from 15% to 21%.

change in this since 2007. On the other hand, 
inactive  young  people  are  more  likely  to  live 
with  their  parents  now  than  before  the  crisis, 
and if they have their own family, they are more 
likely to live with their parents as well.

Young people with care responsibilities
Having  children  is  one  of  the  main  factors 
behind  gender  differences  in  the  employment 

Table 1: Employment status of young people, 2007 and 2011 (%)

Employed

In education

Unemployed

Inactive

Note: Data are unweighted.
Source: EQLS

Men aged 18–29

Women aged 18–29

2007

2011

2007

2011

59

31

7

3

52

29

14

4

53

27

9

11

46

31

14

10

The increase in youth unemployment measured 
in  official  statistics  is  also  noticeable  in  the 
structure of the EQLS sample: a much greater 
proportion of 18–29 year-olds was unemployed 
in the sample for the third wave of the survey in 
2011 than the second wave in 2007: in the case 
of  young  women,  nearly  twice  the  proportion 
and  in  the  case  of  young  men,  exactly  twice 
the proportion.

Living  arrangements  of  young  people  differ 
depending  on  their  economic  status.  Around 
60% of those aged between 18 and 29 who are 
employed  live  either  alone  or  with  a  partner 
and/or children, while one-third live with their 
parents, and just 7% with both their parents and 
their  own  family.  In  contrast,  almost  one-half 
of  young  people  still  in  education  live  with 
parents,  and  are  less  likely  to  live  with  their 
partner and/or children.

Over  two-thirds  of  unemployed  young  people 
live with their parents, the highest rate across 
all the categories, and there has been no great 

rate. According to the EQLS, the unemployment 
rate in the EU28 is 19% for young mothers and 
17%  for  young  fathers,  while  30%  of  young 
mothers and 8% of young fathers are inactive. 
Most inactive young mothers are homemakers 
(around  25%),  while  5%  are  in  education. 
However,  as  many  as  88%  of  these  inactive 
young mothers would like to work if they could 
freely choose their working hours, as would 80% 
of  inactive  young  fathers.2  This  indicates  that 
these young mothers and fathers are probably 
not outside the labour force by choice.

Across the EU28, 30% of young women and 13% 
of young men are involved in childcare at least 
weekly,  while  11%  and  10%  respectively  are 
involved in weekly care for elderly or disabled 
relatives.  Among  young  people  who  provide 
care  at  least  weekly,  young  women  estimate 
that on average they spend 55 hours per week 
providing childcare and 10 hours on care for the 
elderly;  the  equivalent  figures  for  young  men 
are 23 hours and 8 hours (Eurofound, 2013a).

2  This figure excludes students.

9 / Foundation Findings: Social situation of young people in Europe – 3rd EQLS policy brief

Young people caring for children give a relatively 
high  rating  for  their  life  satisfaction.  They  are 
satisfied with their family life, but less so with 
their  social  life,  and  they  feel  more  socially 
excluded than other young people. Young people 
caring  for  elderly/disabled  relatives  feel  more 
socially  excluded  than  others,  and  they  also 
have lower life satisfaction than young people 
on average. Support for reconciliation between 
work,  private  and  family  life  is  highlighted  in 
the Council conclusions on the social inclusion 
of  NEETs  as  an  important  element  in  their 
smoother  integration  into  the  labour  market 
(Council of the European Union, 2013).

Family and social life

Contact with people outside 
the household
In  2011,  more  than  half  of  young  people 
(53%) said they meet their friends every day or 
almost every day, and 89% meet them at least 
once a week. A unique characteristic of young 
people is that their rates of face-to-face contact 
are similar to their rates of contact by phone or 
internet (51% daily, 83% weekly). For older age 
groups, phone and email contact with friends 
is significantly less common than face-to-face 
contact. Understandably, young people still in 
education  are  the  most  likely  to  meet  friends 
every day (94%). If they have moved out of their 
parents’ home, weekly contact with parents is 
still  relatively  common  among  young  people 
(69% face-to-face, 75% by phone).

Satisfaction with family and social life
Over a third (34%) of young people would like 
to  spend  more  time  with  their  friends  (or  on 
other social contacts outside the family), while 
29% would like to increase the time they spend 
with their family. Interesting differences emerge 
between  countries  in  this  respect.  In  Cyprus, 
Slovenia  and  Malta  (countries  where  living 
with one’s parents is common, and most young 
people  remain  in  daily  contact  with  parents 
even  when  living  apart)  young  people  wish 
to  have  even  more  social  and  family  contact. 
In  contrast,  in  Portugal,  Croatia  and  Greece, 
a  comparatively  large  proportion  of  young 
people would rather spend less time with family 

and friends. These three countries are also the 
only ones where many young people feel they 
should  spend  less  time  on  their  own  hobbies 
and interests, while everywhere else in Europe 
most young people would like to have more free 
time to spend on these activities.

Nevertheless,  young  people  on  average  seem 
more  satisfied  with  both  their  family  life  and 
social  life  than  older  age  groups  in  nearly  all 
countries, and this has not changed significantly 
since  2007.  In  some  countries,  such  as  the 
Czech  Republic  and  Hungary,  young  people 
are  more  satisfied  with  their  social  life  than 
their family life, whereas in Ireland and the UK 
they  are  on  average  more  satisfied  with  their 
family life.

Young  people  of  all  social  backgrounds  are 
more satisfied with their life and with the social 
aspects  of  their  life  than  older  people  in  the 
same  respective  categories.  This  is  especially 
true  for  the  youngest  group  (under  25)  still 
living with their parents.

Unemployed  young  people  are  significantly 
less satisfied with their life overall than others. 
Young people who have their own family, and 
live  with  their  partner  and/or  children,  have 
comparatively  low  levels  of  life  satisfaction, 
and the least satisfaction with their social life 
(probably due to the presence of young children, 
or  the  recent  decrease  in  time  spent  with 
friends), but they have the greatest satisfaction 
with  their  family  life.  Probably  for  the  same 
reason, inactive young people are usually very 
satisfied with their family life, but less so with 
their social life.

Social exclusion
The  EU  Youth  Strategy  sets  out  a  range  of 
indicators  to  be  monitored  to  measure  young 
people’s  social  inclusion.  These  include  the 
at-risk of poverty rate, the rate of severe material 
deprivation, and the proportions living in very 
low  work-intensity  households,  with  unmet 
medical  needs  and  the  proportion  of  NEETs 
(European Commission and European Council, 
2012).  Findings  from  the  EQLS  shed  light  on 
two of these: deprivation and unmet needs for 
medical care.

10

Deprivation
Nearly  half  of  all  young  people  in  the  EU 
live  in  households  experiencing  some  form 
of deprivation.3 For 27% of young people this 
means being unable to afford annual holidays, 
invite friends over as guests or replace worn-out 
furniture.  However,  a  further  22%  experience 
serious deprivation, meaning that they cannot 
afford to keep their house warm, buy meat or 
fish at least every second day (if desired) and 
buy new, rather than second-hand, clothes.

The  proportion  of  young  people  experiencing 
serious  deprivation  has  increased  by  six 
percentage  points  since  2007.  The  greatest 
increase  in  deprivation  has  been  experienced 
in  some  southern  European  Member  States, 
such as Spain, Cyprus, Portugal and Greece. In 
nearly all countries young people are more likely 
to  experience  moderate  levels  of  deprivation 
than the general population, but they are less 
likely  to  experience  the  more  serious  forms 
of deprivation.

Figure 3: Experience of serious deprivation, 2007 and 2011 (%)

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Denmark
Luxembourg
Netherlands
Sweden
Spain
Ireland
Slovenia

Bulgaria
Lithuania
Hungary
Romania
Latvia
Slovakia
France
AustriaUK
Finland
Italy
Germany
Poland
Cyprus
Portugal
Greece
Croatia
Estonia
Malta
Belgium
EU28
Czech Republic

2007 

2011 

3  Material deprivation is the inability to afford items considered essential. The EQLS asked respondents if their households could 
afford six basic items: keeping the home adequately warm; paying for a week’s annual holiday away from home (not staying 
with relatives); having a meal with meat, chicken or fish every second day; replacing worn-out furniture; buying new clothes 
rather than second-hand ones; and inviting friends or family for a drink or meal at least once a month.

11 / Foundation Findings: Social situation of young people in Europe – 3rd EQLS policy brief

Young  people  in  large  households  (such  as 
those  living  both  with  their  parents  and  their 
partner and/or children) are the most likely to 
experience a high level of deprivation and the 
greatest increase since 2007, suggesting that – 
for  some  –  such  living  arrangements  may  be 
involuntary,  and  be  a  result  of  the  economic 

Of  these,  waiting  time  is  the  most  common 
issue  for  young  people  in  Europe,  with  44% 
indicating  this  has  made  access  to  medical 
care at least a little difficult, while 37% indicate 
that  they  experienced  a  delay  in  getting  an 
appointment. Finding time to go to the doctor 
(due to work or care responsibilities) is an issue 

Table 2: Experience of deprivation, by living arrangements and employment status, 
2007 and 2011 (%)

None

2007

Low

High

None

2011

Low

High

Living 
arrangements

Alone

Parents

Partner

Partner and 
children
Partner/children 
and parents
Employed

Employment 
status

Unemployed

In education

Inactive

56

66

66

45

40

64

36

64

41

27

21

22

35

32

23

30

24

32

17

13

12

20

28

13

34

11

27

46

54

58

43

36

59

30

53

31

29

27

25

31

24

25

29

28

37

24

19

18

26

40

16

41

20

32

Note: ‘Low’ deprivation means that the respondent cannot afford a week’s annual holiday, to replace worn-out furniture, 
or to invite guests to their home. ‘High’ deprivation means that they cannot afford a meal with meat, chicken or fish, to buy 
new clothes or heat their home adequately. Red shading indicates greater deprivation, green shading indicates less.

crisis. Unemployed and inactive young people 
are significantly more likely to be deprived than 
others.  Importantly,  young  people  living  with 
their  partner  and/or  children  are  much  more 
likely to face deprivation than other age groups 
with the same living circumstances.

Difficulty in accessing healthcare
The  EQLS  measures  difficulty  in  accessing 
healthcare  on  five  different  dimensions. 

for 32% of young people, and cost of medical 
care  is  a  problem  for  31%.  The  distance  to 
travel to the doctor or hospital is a less frequent 
problem, experienced by 18%.

The extent to which these issues contribute to 
difficulty in accessing healthcare varies between 
countries.  Table  3  shows  the  main  barriers  to 
access in each country.

12

Table 3: Reasons for difficulty accessing healthcare, 2011 (%)

Distance

Delay in 
getting an 
appointment

Waiting time

Cost

Finding time

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Germany

Denmark

Estonia

Greece

Spain

Finland

France

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Latvia

Malta

Netherlands

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Sweden

Slovenia

Slovakia

UK

Croatia

EU28

7

10

22

15

19

19

17

21

38

11

18

11

17

12

36

8

4

19

16

13

24

24

22

12

25

30

12

22

18

29

20

23

20

35

41

22

43

65

26

32

26

37

21

55

28

14

25

41

20

47

45

39

32

35

33

36

42

37

31

33

39

36

53

52

24

36

68

37

29

34

42

43

61

36

34

37

65

26

42

48

56

24

38

55

42

48

44

14

26

30

51

22

27

7

23

64

10

22

32

19

51

53

30

29

29

58

25

39

37

46

16

11

50

7

18

30

21

31

20

19

25

37

34

19

39

14

19

37

18

30

36

30

30

23

38

19

26

38

34

21

13

31

36

19

31

Note: Red shading indicates greater difficulty in accessing healthcare, green shading indicates less.

13 / Foundation Findings: Social situation of young people in Europe – 3rd EQLS policy brief

 
It  is  clear  that  in  some  countries  multiple 
barriers  to  access  exist  at  the  same  time:  for 
example,  in  Greece  and  Italy,  delays,  waiting 
time and cost all seem to be issues experienced 
by  a  significant  proportion  of  young  people. 
Cost  is  the  main  problem  in  other  countries, 
such as Cyprus and Ireland. However in some 
countries with universal healthcare, such as the 
UK and Denmark, cost does not appear to be 
a significant issue.

Compared  with  2007,  barriers  in  accessing 
healthcare,  especially  cost,  have  become 
more  prevalent  in  some  countries,  especially 
Greece,  Malta,  the  Netherlands,  Ireland  and 

Slovakia.  In  Greece,  this  increase  is  likely  to 
reflect  the  2011  austerity  measures,  such  as 
limiting the duration of free healthcare for the 
unemployed  to  a  year,  and  people  in  general 
having  to  contribute  more  towards  medical 
costs.  In  Ireland,  free  healthcare  is  limited, 
and  the  rising  cost  issues  may  directly  reflect 
increasing difficulties in making ends meet. In 
Malta and Slovakia, universal healthcare is in 
place, and in the Netherlands universal health 
insurance  is  combined  with  private  health 
plans,  but  the  system  has  not  changed  since 
2006 in any of these countries, so these results 
warrant more research.

Figure 4: Perceived social exclusion by country, 2007 and 2011

3.50

3.00

2.50

2.00

1.50

1.00

Denmark
Germany
Netherlands
Malta
Slovenia
Luxembourg
Spain
Sweden
France
Greece
Portugal
Latvia
Lithuania
Hungary
Slovakia
Austria
Finland
Bulgaria
Romania
Ireland
Poland
Croatia
EU28
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Italy
Estonia
BelgiumUK

Note: Based on the EQLS social exclusion index.

2007 

2011 

14

Perceived social exclusion
The  EQLS  includes  four  questions  measuring 
perceived  social  exclusion,  which  have  been 
used to construct an index.4 There is generally 
a large variation between countries in perceived 
social  exclusion,  but  in  the  EU28  as  a  whole 
there is not a lot of variation according to age 
(Eurofound,  2012).  Among  young  people, 
social exclusion in 2011 was greatest in Cyprus, 
Greece  and  Bulgaria  and  lowest  in  Denmark, 
Germany and Austria, similar to the findings for 
the whole population.

In  most  countries  young  people  did  not  on 
average  feel  more  social  exclusion  in  2011 
than  in  2007,  but  in  some  countries  such 
as  Cyprus,  Sweden  and  Greece  there  was 
a significant increase.

The highest level of social exclusion is perceived 
by young people living with their partner and/
or children together with their parents or other 
relatives (such as the partner’s parents), which 
is  probably  a  result  of  their  inability  to  move 
to their own home due to financial constraints.

Figure 5: Perceived social exclusion, by living arrangements, 2011

2.50

2.45

2.40

2.35

2.30

2.25

2.20

2.15

2.10

2.05

2.00

1.95

Alone 

Parents 

Partner 

Partner
and children

Partner/children
and parents

Note: Based on the EQLS social exclusion index.

4  The perceived social exclusion index refers to the overall average score from responses to the four statements: ‘I feel left out 
of society’, ‘Life has become so complicated today that I almost can’t find my way’, ‘I don’t feel that the value of what I do is 
recognised by others’, ‘Some people look down on me because of my job situation or income’, where 1 = ‘strongly disagree’ 
and 5 = ‘strongly agree’.

15 / Foundation Findings: Social situation of young people in Europe – 3rd EQLS policy brief

Table 4: Perceived social exclusion by economic status, 2007 and 2011

Employed

Unemployed

In education

Inactive

Note: Table 4 uses the EQLS social exclusion index.

Lack  of  employment  opportunities  has  been 
shown to have a significant impact on perceived 
social  exclusion  (Eurofound,  2012).  Among 
young  people,  those  who  are  unemployed  or 
inactive  feel  the  most  excluded  from  society, 
with no significant change since 2007. Students 
are much less likely to feel excluded from society 
than those who are inactive or unemployed.

Looking at the different elements of the social 
exclusion  index,  relatively  few  young  people 
agree that they feel excluded from society, but 
many  of  them  say  that  their  life  has  become 
so  complicated  that  they  almost  cannot  find 
their way (20% of all young people), and that 
the value of what they do is not recognised by 
others (21%). A feeling of being excluded from 
society is most prevalent for unemployed young 
people  (13%),  and  feeling  that  their  value  is 
not  being  recognised  is  most  common  among 
inactive young people (30%).

A different measure of exclusion is loneliness, 
a type of negative effect that usually increases 
with  age  (Eurofound,  2012).  While  young 
people are considerably less likely to feel lonely 
than  older  groups  on  average,  young  people 
living alone – and those living with their parents 
as  well  as  their  partner  and/or  children –  are 
the most likely to feel lonely more than half of 
the  time  (13%  and  14%  respectively).  Young 
people living only with their partner or only with 
their parents are the least likely to feel lonely. 
In  addition,  unemployed  and  inactive  young 
people are more likely to feel lonely than others 
(13% and 14%).

2007

2.2

2.6

2.0

2.4

2011

2.1

2.5

2.1

2.5

Mental well‑being

Young people in Europe generally have slightly 
better mental well-being than older age groups, 
as measured by the WHO-5 mental well-being 
scale.5 People younger than 32 years have a rating 
of 66 on the scale; for people aged 30 or over, 
the rating is 62. This is true in most countries, 
though the difference varies, with young people 
having significantly better-than-average mental 
well-being everywhere in eastern Europe and in 
some southern European countries (especially 
Bulgaria,  Greece,  Romania  and  Slovenia). 
A  notable  exception  is  Sweden,  where  young 
people score six points lower than the average 
population on the scale.

Young people living with their parents, whether 
employed  or  in  education,  and  aged  under 
25  have  better  mental  well-being  than  other 
groups  (though  the  difference  between  18–24 
year-olds  and  25–29  year-olds  has  decreased 
since 2007); in contrast, those living with their 
own  families  and  parents  in  the  same  home, 
and those who are unemployed or inactive have 
poorer mental well-being.

At EU level, young people’s mental well-being has 
not changed significantly since 2007 overall and 
for these subgroups. However, changes are visible 
in  some  countries:  there  has  been  a  decrease 
in  mental  well-being  in  Ireland,  where  mental 
well-being of young people was among the highest 
(-8 points), and in Sweden (-6 points). At the same 
time, young people’s mental well-being increased 
in two countries where it had been relatively low: 
Italy (+8 points) and Denmark (+6 points).

5  The WHO-5 mental well-being scale is composed of the following items, all measured on a six-point scale and referring to how 
the respondent felt over the previous two weeks: I have felt cheerful and in good spirits; I have felt calm and relaxed; I have 
felt active and vigorous; I woke up feeling fresh and rested; my daily life has been filled with things that interest me. The scale 
ranges from 1 to 100.

16

Table 5: Mental well‑being by living arrangements, economic status and age 
(WHO‑5 scale)

2007

2011

Alone

Living with parents

Living with partner

Living with partner and children

Living with partner/children and parents

Employed

Unemployed

In education

Inactive

Aged 18–24

Aged 25–29

All aged 18–29

65

67

67

63

62

66

62

68

62

68

64

66

65

68

66

65

61

67

64

68

62

67

66

66

Note: Green shading indicates greater mental well-being (higher-than-average values); red shading indicates worse 
(lower-than-average values).

Figure 5: Mental well‑being, by country (WHO‑5 scale)

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Luxembourg
Denmark
Latvia
Malta
Romania

Hungary
Portugal
Bulgaria
Slovakia
Ireland
Germany
France
Spain
Czech Republic
Austria
Netherlands
Lithuania
Greece
Slovenia
Sweden
Poland
EU28
Cyprus
Belgium
Croatia
Finland
ItalyUK
Estonia

2007 

2011 

17 / Foundation Findings: Social situation of young people in Europe – 3rd EQLS policy brief

 
Sources of support
Respondents were asked who they would turn to 
in particular life situations if they needed help. 
The  options  to  choose  from  included  family, 
friends, an institution (professional), or nobody. 
The  majority  (85%)  of  young  people  would 
turn  to  their  family  if  they  were  ill  or  if  they 
needed to discuss a serious personal or family 
matter  (66%).  However,  friends  are  almost  as 
important  a  source  of  support  as  family  when 
young people feel depressed and need someone 
to  talk  to  (46%  as  against  48%).  Friends  are 
a more important source of support for young 
people  living  alone  (57%  of  this  group  saying 
they would turn to their friends). And for young 
people still in education, who see their friends 
very often, they are also important (55%).

If they needed help in looking for a job, most 
young  people  would  turn  to  family  (41%)  or 
friends (29%), while just under a quarter would 
seek professional help (23%).

Participation in society

Volunteering
In 2011 young people were asked whether they 
had participated in volunteer work for several 
types  of  organisations  during  the  previous 
12 months. Occasional volunteering is relatively 
common  among  young  people:  overall, 
one-third  had  participated  in  volunteering 
activities in the previous 12 months, while 11% 
had  volunteered  on  at  least  a  monthly  basis. 
These  are  similar  rates  to  those  of  older  age 
groups,  except  that  occasional  volunteering 
becomes  less  common  after  the  age  of  50, 
while  regular  volunteering  remains  constant. 
Young people still in education are more likely 
to  engage  in  volunteering,  perhaps  due  to 
opportunities  provided  through  educational 
institutions. Indeed, when looking at the type 
of  volunteering  organisations  young  people 
are  involved  in,  most  volunteer  in  education, 
culture  or  sports  activities.  Inactive  and 
unemployed young people are the least likely 
to  volunteer,  probably  because  they  have  no 
access  to  volunteering  opportunities  through 
employment or education.

One-third  of  young  people  who  volunteer 
occasionally or regularly would like to spend 
more  time  on  volunteering,  compared  with 
a  quarter  of  those  who  do  not  volunteer. 
Among  those  who  do  not  volunteer,  it  is 
particularly  those  in  education  and  who  are 
unemployed who would like to volunteer more 
(31% and 28%), while those who are employed 
or inactive are less likely to wish to volunteer 
(both 23%).

Occasional volunteering among young people 
is  most  common  in  Finland,  Austria  and 
Ireland,  where  over  half  of  all  young  people 
had participated in the previous year. Regular 
volunteering  rates  show  much  less  diversity 
among the EU28 countries: the highest rate is 
18% in Luxembourg, followed by 17% in France 
and Sweden.

Social activities and sports
Young  people  are  more  active  than  other  age 
groups in social activities, with more than half 
active  in  sports  and  one-fifth  active  in  clubs 
or  societies  on  at  least  a  weekly  basis.  Over 
three-quarters use the internet every day. There 
is a difference between the youngest age group 
(18–24)  and  next  oldest  age  group  (25–29) 
especially  in  daily  internet  use  (81%  for  the 
younger  group  compared  with  74%  for  the 
older) and in sports activities (59% compared 
with 49%).

Young people who are unemployed or inactive 
are less likely to use the internet daily than those 
who are employed or in education (perhaps due 
to  lack  of  access).  They  are  significantly  less 
likely  to  be  active  in  sports  every  week,  most 
likely for reasons of cost or accessibility. They are 
also less likely to participate in clubs or societies.

Young people are most likely to participate in 
a  club  or  society’s  social  activities  in  Ireland 
(where  39%  do  so),  the  Netherlands  (38%) 
and Sweden (37%), with Finland, UK, Croatia 
and Austria following closely behind (all over 
33%). Weekly participation in sport or physical 
exercise  is  most  common  in  Finland  (83%), 
Ireland  (71%),  Sweden  (69%)  and  the  Czech 
Republic (68%).

18

Table 6: Participation in social activities, by economic status (%)

Employed Unemployed In education

Inactive

Total

Internet (daily)

Sports (weekly)

Religious (weekly)

Social activities (clubs, 
societies) (weekly)

76

54

9

21

69

45

9

15

88

66

10

26

64

34

15

10

78

55

9

21

Political activities and trust in 
political institutions

to  have  participated  in  any  kind  of  political 
activities in the past year.

Participation in political activities
Relatively few young people in Europe participate 
in meetings of political organisations, and a low 
proportion had contacted politicians in the year 
prior to the survey. While they are slightly more 
likely  to  have  attended  demonstrations,  their 
typical way of participating in political activities 
is signing petitions. As with volunteering, young 
people currently in education are the most likely 
to participate in political activities (the largest 
difference  is  seen  in  the  proportion  attending 
protests or demonstrations). Young people who 
are unemployed or inactive are the least likely 

Young  people’s  political  activity  varies 
significantly  between  countries.  For  example, 
in  Sweden  over  half  of  the  young  people 
participated  in  one  of  the  activities  in  2011, 
as against just 11% in Hungary and Bulgaria. 
Signing  a  petition  is  the  most  common  form 
of  participation  by  young  people  everywhere 
except  in  Bulgaria  and  in  Cyprus,  where 
attending  trade  union,  political  party  or 
action-group meetings is more common. Young 
people  were  most  likely  to  have  attended 
protests  or  demonstrations  at  least  once  in 
the year prior to the survey in Greece, Cyprus, 
Spain and France.

19 / Foundation Findings: Social situation of young people in Europe – 3rd EQLS policy brief

 
Table 7: Participation in political activities by country, 2011 (%)

Attended a meeting 
of a trade union, 
a political party 
or political action 
group

Attended 
a protest or 
demonstration

Signed 
a petition, 
including 
an email or 
online petition

Contacted 
a politician 
or public 
official

Any political 
activity

Hungary

Bulgaria

Malta

Poland

Portugal

Latvia

Slovenia

Lithuania

Estonia

Romania

Slovakia

Italy

Czech Republic

Belgium

Greece

EU28

UK

Spain

Cyprus

Germany

Austria

Luxembourg

Croatia

Netherlands

Ireland

France

Denmark

Finland

Sweden

1

6

1

3

2

7

2

4

3

6

0

7

3

4

2

6

5

7

10

7

9

12

7

4

11

10

19

10

15

0

2

1

1

7

2

4

0

3

3

4

11

8

8

22

9

5

18

19

10

13

12

6

6

12

17

5

3

12

10

3

10

10

10

9

13

14

13

13

20

16

19

21

12

20

26

14

6

18

22

24

33

35

26

30

28

31

48

1

3

2

5

0

8

1

4

6

4

4

2

0

3

3

6

6

7

6

8

11

11

2

8

7

7

8

7

13

11

11

13

15

15

16

16

17

20

20

22

22

23

26

27

27

28

28

29

29

34

34

38

38

38

39

39

42

54

Note: Green shading indicates higher levels of political participation; red shading, lower.

20

 
Trust in institutions
Young  people  in  general  trust  institutions  as 
much  as  older  people  do,  with  the  exception 
of  the  police,  whom  they  trust  less.  In  2011, 
young people rated their trust of the police at 
5.7 on a scale of 1–10 (as against 6.0 for older 
groups). Interestingly, the police was the only 
institution that young people trusted as much 
as they did in 2007. Young people’s trust in all 
other institutions has decreased in Europe since 
before the crisis: trust in the government fell by 
0.5 points, in the parliament and in the press by 
0.4 points, and in the legal system by 0.3 points. 

In 2007, young people trusted the government 
most  in  Nordic  countries  such  as  Finland, 
Denmark and Sweden and in other advanced, 
high-income countries such as the Netherlands, 
Austria and Luxembourg. In contrast, trust in 
the government was low in many of central and 
eastern European countries.

The  main  change  that  had  taken  place  by 
2011 was that governments in some southern 
European countries that had been hit hard by 
the crisis, especially Greece, Cyprus and Spain 
experienced  a  huge  decline  in  trust,  whereas 

Figure 6: Trust in government, 2007 and 2011 (scale of 1–10)
8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

0

Bulgaria
Hungary
Croatia
Romania
Slovenia
Latvia
Poland
Greece
Lithuania
Czech Republic
Italy
Portugal

France
EU28
UK
Slovakia
Ireland
Denmark
Germany
Luxembourg
Belgium
Malta
Cyprus
Netherlands
Spain
Sweden
Finland
Austria
Estonia

2007 

2011 

These declines in trust were a little smaller than 
those observed for older age groups.

Young  people’s  trust  in  institutions  depends 
considerably on the country context. Figure 6 
shows  levels  of  young  people’s  trust  in  the 
national  government,  and  how  it  changed 
between 2007 and 2011.

countries  that  had  recently  held  elections, 
such  as  Bulgaria,  Hungary  and  Luxembourg, 
showed  a  sizeable  increase.  Similar  changes 
in young people’s trust were recorded for other 
institutions (with the exception of the police, as 
already discussed).

21 / Foundation Findings: Social situation of young people in Europe – 3rd EQLS policy brief

Interpersonal trust and 
social tensions

Trust
Overall in the EU28, young people trust others 
as  much  as  people  in  other  age  groups  do. 
There  has  been  very  little  change  since  2007 
in interpersonal trust, and young people do not 
differ significantly in terms  of gender and age 
in  this  respect.  However,  employment  status 
clearly matters for trust, with students being the 
most trusting and those unemployed or inactive 
being the least.

There are also significant country differences 
in  the  level  of  young  people’s  interpersonal 
trust.  In  some  countries,  such  as  the  Czech 
Republic, Austria and Hungary, young people 

are more likely to trust people than are older 
age groups, whereas in Sweden, the UK and 
Luxembourg,  young  people  are  less  trusting 
than  others.  This  may  be  explained  by  the 
finding  that  in  many  of  the  former  group  of 
countries young people generally have a better 
quality  of  life  than  older  people  (according 
to  measures  of  subjective  well-being,  social 
exclusion and poverty), whereas in the latter 
group  older  people  are  generally  better  off 
(Eurofound, 2012).

While  levels  of  interpersonal  trust  changed 
little  in  the  EU28  overall,  in  a  few  countries 
significant  change  was  recorded.  For  young 
people, trust has decreased in Romania, Cyprus 
and  Slovakia,  while  it  increased  in  Finland, 
Slovenia and Germany.

Figure 7: Interpersonal trust, 2007 and 2011 (scale of 1–10)

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

0

France
Germany
Malta
Portugal
Poland
Greece
Lithuania
Bulgaria
Latvia
Croatia
Hungary
Italy
Czech Republic
Cyprus

Luxembourg
Denmark
Belgium
Ireland
Slovakia
Slovenia
Sweden
Netherlands
Romania
Spain
Austria
UK
Finland
Estonia
EU28

2007 

2011 

22

tensions 

Social tensions
is  very 
Perception  of  social 
country-specific.  Figure  8  illustrates  the 
proportion of young people perceiving tension 
between  different  ethnic  groups.  As  with  the 
general  population,  young  people  are  most 
likely  to  perceive  ethnic  tensions  in  countries 
with  a  lot  of  immigration,  such  as  Belgium, 
France  and  the  Netherlands.  However,  since 
2007 the proportion of young people perceiving 
this type of social tension increased significantly 
in  a  number  of  other  countries  (Cyprus,  the 

Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Romania) while 
it decreased in others, most notably Denmark 
and Luxembourg.

Young people in the EU overall are similar to 
the  general  population  in  their  perception  of 
certain social tensions – namely, those between 
poor people and rich people, management and 
workers, and old people and young people. On 
the other hand, they are more likely to perceive 
a  lot  of  tension  between  different  racial  and 
ethnic  groups,  different  religious  groups  and 
groups with different sexual orientation.

Figure 8: Perception of ethnic tensions, 2011 (%)

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Spain
Denmark
Slovakia
Germany
GreeceUK
EU28
Poland
Czech Republic
Luxembourg
Bulgaria
Latvia
Portugal
Italy
Estonia
Romania
Malta
Hungary
Ireland
Lithuania
Croatia
Finland
France
Netherlands
Sweden
Cyprus
Austria
Slovenia
Belgium

Note: Figures refer to the percentage of 18–29 year-olds who perceived ‘a lot’ of tension between ethnic groups in their country.

23 / Foundation Findings: Social situation of young people in Europe – 3rd EQLS policy brief

Optimism about the future

Over two-thirds of young people are generally 
optimistic about the future – a figure that has not 
changed much since 2007, and is significantly 
higher than the average for all age groups in the 

EU (just over half). However, in many countries 
young  people  are  less  optimistic  than  before, 
and  these  are  often  also  the  countries  where 
they seem to be facing the most difficulties in 
terms of deprivation and social exclusion, and 
perceived social tensions.

Figure 9: Optimism about the future, 2007 and 2011 (%)

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

24

Luxembourg
France
Bulgaria
Lithuania
Belgium
Portugal
Hungary
Italy
GermanyUK
Austria
Romania
EU28
Czech Republic
Latvia
Greece
Denmark
Slovenia
Malta
Cyprus
Slovakia
Ireland
Netherlands
Spain
Croatia
Poland
Sweden
Estonia
Finland

2007 

2011 

� Policy pointers

�  The EQLS as well as other surveys such as 
European Union Statistics on Income and 
Living  Conditions  (EU-SILC)  show  that 
young people in many European countries 
are now more likely to live with their parents 
than before the crisis. More research needs 
to  be  carried  out  into  the  determinants  of 
young  people’s  living  arrangements  (for 
example, whether they live voluntarily with 
their  parents  or  for  how  long  they  remain 
at their parental home). However it is clear 
that  unemployment  is  still  the  key  barrier 
to  independence,  with  most  unemployed 
young  people  living  with  and  depending 
on  their  parents.  Similarly,  inactive  young 
people  are  more  likely  to  live  with  their 
parents now than in 2007, even if they have 
their  own  family.  European  and  national 
policies  (both  employment  and  social) 
should  recognise  the  importance  of  the 
successful  transition  of  young  people  into 
adulthood and work.

�  Young  people  who  are  actively  looking  for 
work,  and  inactive  young  people,  would 
like to work if they could freely choose their 
working hours. This includes inactive young 
mothers and fathers looking after children in 
their home. National policymakers as well 
as social partners should support and where 

possible accommodate flexible arrangements 
to allow those who want to work to combine 
it with caring or other obligations.

�  Young people have more face-to-face and 
phone  or  email  contact  with  friends  and 
family than older groups, and most remain 
in weekly contact with their parents even if 
they have already moved out of the family 
home.  In  addition,  young  people  in  all 
life  circumstances  are  more  satisfied  with 
their  life  in  general,  their  social  life  and 
family  life  than  older  groups  in  the  same 
circumstances. However, unemployed and 
inactive young people give a comparatively 
low  rating  for  subjective  well-being. 
A  number  of  studies,  including  a  recent 
EQLS  report  on  subjective  well-being 
(Eurofound, 2013b), point to the negative 
and  possible  long-term  impact  of  the 
crisis  on  mental  health  and  well-being. 
If  not  recognised  and  mitigated  early  this 
could  have  negative  and  far-reaching 
in 
consequences 
particular.  In  addition,  in  light  of  the 
current  budgetary  cuts  to  public  services 
(including  healthcare),  governments  and 
service providers should take into account 
the  growing  need  for  services  among 
young people.

for  young  people 

25 / Foundation Findings: Social situation of young people in Europe – 3rd EQLS policy brief

�  At the same time, unemployed and inactive 
young  people  (whose  levels  of  subjective 
well-being  is  lower  than  average)  are  also 
more  likely  to  feel  themselves  socially 
excluded, to feel lonely, and to face a lack 
of  social  support;  they  also  have  lower 
mental  well-being.  Unsurprisingly,  they 
also  trust  other  people  less,  in  general. 
This may mean that young people are less 
likely  to  seek  help  and  assistance  from 
organisations or service providers. The staff 
of such organisations should be particularly 
sensitive  and  reach  out  to  potentially 
disengaged young people. The role of youth 
organisations  and  civil  society  should  be 
emphasised as an important interlocutor.

�  Volunteering activities and active citizenship 
are promoted as tools in EU policy to help 
young  people  get  back  to  work  and  build 
social  capital.  However,  young  people 
who  are  not  participating  in  employment 
(whether inactive or unemployed) are also 
the  least  likely  to  participate  in  society 

through volunteering. They are also the least 
likely  to  participate  in  social  activities  (for 
example,  in  clubs  or  societies),  participate 
in  sports,  and  even  to  use  the  internet  on 
a daily basis, probably due to difficulties with 
access  to  all  of  these  activities.  However, 
a  significant  proportion  of  unemployed 
young people would like to spend more time 
on volunteering activities.

�  Few young people in general participate in 
political  activities  that  involve  attending 
meetings/demonstrations  or  contacting 
public officials: more commonly, they sign 
petitions. In general, young people are also 
less  likely  to  trust  institutions  now  than 
they  did  in  2007.  Policymakers  should 
recognise  that  some  forms  of  political  or 
social engagement may, for various reasons, 
not  be  popular  or  trusted  among  young 
people. More attention should be given to 
new forms of interaction. This is particularly 
valid when trying to connect with the most 
disaffected and disengaged.

26

Further reading

All Eurofound publications are available at www.eurofound.europa.eu

Council of the European Union (2013),  Council conclusions on enhancing the social inclusion of 
young people not in employment, education or training (Education, Youth, Culture and Sport Council 
meeting, Brussels, 25–26 November 2013).

European  Commission  (2012),  EU  Youth  Report –  Status  of  the  situation  of  young  people  in  the 
European Union, 2012, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg.

European Commission and European Council (2012), ‘Joint report of the Council and the Commission 
on  the  implementation  of  the  renewed  framework  for  European  cooperation  in  the  youth  field’, 
COM(2012) 495 final, Brussels.

Eurofound (2012), Third European Quality of Life Survey – Quality of life in Europe: Impacts of the 
crisis, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg.

Eurofound (2013a), Caring for children and dependents: Effect on careers of young workers, Eurofound, 
Dublin.

Eurofound (2013b), Third European Quality of Life Survey – Quality of life in Europe: Subjective well-
being, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg.

Eurostat (2013), Unemployment statistics, available at 
http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/statistics_explained/index.php/Unemployment_statistics

27 / Foundation Findings: Social situation of young people in Europe – 3rd EQLS policy brief

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‘Young women and men are an important resource of Europe. They 

represent potential for today and the future; however, they face 

many challenges such as unemployment and related social problems. 

In order to emerge from the current crisis and to prevent similar 

problems in the future, all Member States have to take immediate 

actions  aimed  at  promoting  youth  employment,  education  and 

training, participation and social inclusion of young people.’

Council of the European Union: Council conclusions 
on enhancing the social inclusion of young people 
not in employment, education or training, Education, 
Youth, Culture and Sport Council meeting, 
Brussels, 25–26 November 2013

Foundation Findings provide pertinent background information 
and policy pointers for all actors and interested parties engaged 
in  the  current  European  debate  on  the  future  of  social  policy. 
The  contents  are  based  on  Eurofound  research  and  reflect  its 
autonomous and tripartite structure.

European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions 
(Eurofound)

Wyattville Road
Loughlinstown
Dublin 18
Ireland
Telephone: (+353 1) 204 31 00
Email: information@eurofound.europa.eu
Web: www.eurofound.europa.eu

EF/14/04/EN