CSB: Youth Employment Rate Has Slightly Increased in Recent Years 0 7

In 2024, the employment rate for individuals aged 18-29 was 59%, which is slightly higher than ten years ago but still below the level of 2019, when over 63% of youth were employed. Most employed young people work in the fields of trade, food and accommodation, as well as in transportation and information technology. Three out of five young people are not working due to their studies.

The youth employment rate remains lower than the overall employment rate for those aged 15-74, which stands at 64%. Young men are employed more often than young women: they account for 54.2% of the employed, while the figure for women is 45.8%.

Regionally, the highest youth employment rates were recorded in the Riga and Zemgale regions - 63.6% and 60.4%, respectively. The lowest rate was observed in Latgale - 49.1%. This is the only region where the employment rate has increased since 2019 - by 1.4 percentage points.

Last year, 15% of young people took advantage of remote work opportunities. Compared to 2021, the share of those working remotely decreased by 4.6 percentage points.

Salaries for young people are lower than for adults. 53% of individuals under 20 earn up to 700 euros per month, while for those aged 20 to 24, this figure is 21%. 80% of young people under 20 earned up to 1000 euros, 42% of those aged 20 to 24, and 25% of those aged 25 to 29.

The lower salaries can be explained by part-time work, lower qualifications, and concurrent studies. In 2024, 10.3% of young people were employed part-time, which is 3.3 percentage points higher than the average in labor force statistics.

Unemployment among young people aged 18 to 29 reached 10.8% in 2024. This is 3.5 percentage points lower than in 2014. The highest unemployment rate was in Latgale - 16%, while the lowest was in the Riga and Kurzeme regions - 9.6%. Compared to 2019, the unemployment rate in Latgale decreased by 3.8 percentage points, while in other regions it increased, most notably in Vidzeme - by 5.9 percentage points.

In 2024, the group of young people aged 15-24 who are not working and not studying (NEET youth) comprised 17,000 individuals, or 9% of the corresponding age group. This is higher than what is stipulated in the national development plan. To achieve the target set for 2027, this figure needs to be reduced by three percentage points.

The share of NEET youth aged 25-29 is even higher - 14.6%. A significant portion of this group consists of women, for whom personal or family circumstances are the main reasons for not working.

The share of NEET youth in Latvia has changed under the influence of the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2020, it was 7.1%, and in 2021 it rose to 8.6%. This figure then decreased somewhat, but since 2023 it has increased again - to 9%.

30.8% of NEET youth have secondary education, while the share of those with primary or lower education has decreased to 23.1%. The share of those with vocational secondary education is 18.9%.

In the European Union, NEET rates in the age group 15-29 have improved since 2014. In 2024, the lowest level was recorded - 11.1%. In Latvia, the share of NEET in the age group 15-29 is 10.7%. This is four percentage points lower than in Lithuania and 0.3 percentage points lower than in Estonia.

To achieve the EU target of reducing the NEET share to 9% by 2030, Latvia needs to decrease this figure by 1.7 percentage points.