Working While Studying: Which EU Countries Have the Highest Rates and Why? 0 15

According to the latest data from Eurostat, in 2024, more than one in four young Europeans aged 15 to 29 worked and studied at the same time.

This situation was most common in the Netherlands (74.3%), Denmark (56.4%), and Germany (45.8%).

In contrast, Romania (2.4%), Greece (6%), and Croatia (6.4%) demonstrated the lowest rates among EU countries for working students.

The main motivation for working while studying is financial considerations. However, experts say that students' motives may differ depending on where they are from and in which sector of the economy they work.

"Some students are primarily driven by financial considerations, while others use work or unpaid internships to gain work experience and improve their employment prospects," said Madeline Nightingale, head of the research department at the non-profit organization RAND Europe, in an interview with Europe in Motion.

According to Nightingale, while financial necessity "is likely to vary across EU member states depending on student funding mechanisms, the latter option is more common in certain sectors such as law, finance, and the creative industry."

"It may also depend on socio-economic status, as for some students, paid work is an economic necessity," she added.

Moreover, students' involvement in paid work will also be influenced by broader labor market trends. For example, one study in the Netherlands found that the increase in paid jobs for students is linked to the rise of flexible forms of employment.

Nevertheless, most young Europeans do not work while studying: according to Eurostat, more than seven out of ten young people do not work while pursuing higher education.

At the same time, 3.2% are unemployed but actively seeking work.

The highest share of unemployed young people in education was recorded in Sweden (14.1%), Finland (10%), and Denmark (9.6%).

On the other hand, in Romania (0.6%), Croatia, the Czech Republic, and Hungary (0.8% each), less than 1% of young people attempted to find employment.

Different Rates Among Men and Women?

Among women aged 15 to 19, 74.4% were not engaged in the labor market, while among men of the same age, this figure was 70.4%.

As they grow older and reach the age group of 20 to 24, the share of those not engaged in the labor market decreases to 30.9% among women and 24.8% among men. This indicates greater integration into the labor market alongside educational activities, notes Eurostat.

In this age group, the share of young people working while studying was 19.6% for women and 17% for men.

Additionally, among young people aged 25 to 29, employment reached 62% among women and 71.9% among men. Meanwhile, the share of women not working and not receiving education (16.2%) was higher than that of men (6.9%). This may indicate that they prefer to focus on education in their younger years.

Data also shows that women are more likely to enroll in educational institutions than men.

However, if women in this age group are not studying, they are less likely to work or seek employment, as evidenced by lower employment rates and a higher share of unemployed women compared to men.