How many young people in Serbia are neither working nor studying?

Unlike Germany, Luxembourg, Denmark, Austria, and Lithuania – which have seen an increase over the past decade in the number of young people who are not in employment, education, or training – this percentage (the so-called NEET rate) is declining in Serbia. However, despite this decrease, it remains higher than the equivalent indicator for every EU member state except Romania.

According to official statistics, the proportion of young people aged 15 to 24 who are not involved in education, employment, or training (the NEET rate) in Serbia stood at 13 per cent for 2025, data from the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia (RZS) shows. Among young men, this rate was 13.4 per cent, while for young women it stood at 12.6 per cent.

The percentages differ when examining the NEET rate for young people aged 15 to 29 – in that age group, as many as 15.1 per cent are neither working, nor studying, nor attending training.

In this group, there are more young women than men: the NEET rate for women is 15.9 per cent, compared to 14.4 per cent for men.

The latest available data from the RZS Labour Force Survey for the first quarter of 2026 shows that the NEET rate continues to fall, reaching 14.2 per cent for the first three months of 2026 (for the 15–29 age group) and 12 per cent (for ages 15–24).

Situation in the EU

According to official European statistics (Eurostat), the proportion of young people aged 15 to 29 in the EU who were not employed, educated, or participating in training programmes (NEET) was 11 per cent in 2025. This represents a decline from 11.1 per cent in 2024 and 15.2 per cent in 2015. “This brings the EU closer to achieving its target of reducing the NEET rate among young people to nine per cent by 2030, as set out in the European Pillar of Social Rights,” Eurostat notes.

The NEET rate among young people varies depending on age: “Among the youngest group (aged 15–19), just 5.3 per cent belonged to the NEET category, whereas the rate was more than double among those aged 20–24 (12.8%) and 25–29 (14.7%),” Eurostat states.

The lowest NEET rates among young people in the European Union were recorded in the Netherlands (5.3%), Sweden (5.9%), and Slovenia (7.6%). By contrast, the highest rates were registered in Romania (19.2%), Bulgaria (13.8%), and Greece (13.6%).

Countries in our region are closer to the latter group. Specifically, the NEET rate in Serbia for 2025 (15–29 age group) was 15.1 per cent. A higher share of young people outside employment, education, or training than Serbia is found only in the aforementioned Romania (19.2%), followed by Bosnia and Herzegovina – where every fifth young person belongs to this category (NEET rate of 20%) – North Macedonia (23.4%), and Turkey, for which Eurostat also provides data (26.3%).

There is no data for Montenegro for 2025 in Eurostat’s report, but according to the local Statistical Office (Monstat), the NEET indicator in 2024 was 16.5 per cent. In Croatia, this rate stands at 10.8 per cent, whilst Slovenia, as mentioned, is among the countries with the lowest NEET rate at 7.6 per cent.

KOMS: What young people are saying in 2026?

The National Youth Council of Serbia (KOMS) presented its Alternative Report on the Position and Needs of Youth in the Republic of Serbia for 2026 last week.

High living costs have become the single biggest issue for youth: 82.6 per cent of young people cite high living costs as one of the major problems in Serbia. This is followed by corruption (76.9%) and a lack of democracy and justice (71.3%).

At the same time, the perception of unemployment as a primary problem has dropped significantly: from 89.1 per cent in 2017 to 35.8 per cent in 2026. The total number of unemployed young people today stands at 62,437, which is roughly 133,000 fewer than in 2014, the report states.

For young people, employment is not just about having a job, but about quality of life.

Although youth unemployment has fallen, 55 per cent of employed young people do not work in the field they were educated for, whilst a further 11 per cent work in roles only partially related to their education, the report points out. “Young people estimate that more than 130,000 dinars per month is needed for a decent life in Serbia, whilst the average salary is lower, standing at 121,650 dinars. More than a quarter of young people believe they will never be able to buy their own property,” according to the views expressed by respondents in this study.

Who belongs to the NEET category?

The NEET category encompasses diverse sub-groups of young people with different experiences and needs.

According to the report titled Model for Outreaching and Activating Disengaged NEET Youth (Ministry of Labour, January 2024), this group includes long-term unemployed youth, new entrants to the labour market, individuals caring for children or family members, those with temporary illnesses or long-term disabilities, and young people simply taking a break from work or education. “They include young people with little control over their situation and those who can choose; those attached to the labour market (unemployed youth) and those completely detached (inactive youth not in education or training); those registered with public services (employment, social assistance, or healthcare) and those who are ‘off the radar’,” the report explains.

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) mapped NEET youth in Serbia to prepare the Youth Guarantee Implementation Plan, drawing on data from 2017 to 2020, which serves as a baseline for understanding the key characteristics of NEET youth in the country.

The NEET population is typically divided into seven sub-groups. The unemployed are divided by duration (short-term and long-term), whilst inactive youth are divided by the underlying cause of inactivity:

• Short-term unemployed (unemployed youth seeking work for less than a year)

• Long-term unemployed (unemployed youth seeking work for more than a year)

• Re-entrants (to the labour market or education – those who have secured a job or enrolled in education and will soon leave the NEET category)

• Illness/Disability (not seeking work due to illness or disability, including recipients of social assistance)

• Family responsibilities (unable to work due to caring for children or incapacitated adults)

• Discouraged workers (believe no job opportunities exist and have stopped searching)

• Other NEET (a highly heterogeneous group, ranging from the most vulnerable to privileged individuals who can afford not to work)

International Labour Organisation: Global NEET rate reaches 20%

In 2025, the global youth unemployment rate reached 12.4 per cent, whilst the share of young people not in employment, education, or training (NEET) reached 20 per cent, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) highlighted in its annual report World Employment and Social Outlook 2026.

“This means that 67.3 million young people were unemployed, whilst a total of 257 million young people missed out on acquiring valuable knowledge and experience that could improve their future labour market prospects,” the report highlights.

NEET rates, according to the ILO, are lowest in high-income countries and highest in low-income nations. In 2025, rates stood at 10.9 per cent in high-income countries, compared to 27.9 per cent in low-income countries.

“Similarly, the global youth unemployment rate, which had been falling since 2020, stabilised in 2024 at 12.3 per cent and is expected to remain around that level until 2027,” the ILO report notes.

Where the NEET rate is rising

In 2015, Serbia’s NEET rate was 24.6 per cent – meaning one in every four young people aged 15 to 29 was outside education, employment, or training. Today, that figure has fallen to 15.1 per cent. Although the overall EU trend shows a decline in the share of NEET youth (from 15.2% to 11%), several EU member states have seen the reverse trend over the past decade:

• Germany: Increased from 8.5% to 9.5%

• Luxembourg: Increased from 7.6% to 8.8%

• Denmark: Increased from 8.5% to 8.9%

• Austria: Increased from 8.7% to 10.3%

• Lithuania: Increased from 11.8% to 12.4%

As reported by Deutsche Welle (DW), the growing number of disengaged youth in Germany presents significant societal risks – ranging from political frustration among young people to a loss of urgently needed skilled labour.

The WSI Institute of the Hans Böckler Foundation described this trend in Germany as “worrying”. WSI Director Bettina Kohlrausch told DW that for young individuals in this situation, it means “uncertain future prospects and likely a bumpy path into working life,” while for the German labour market, it represents a critical loss of future skilled workers. Kohlrausch added that it is essential to offer strong vocational training opportunities alongside continuous support to help young people secure apprenticeships and transition smoothly into the labour market.

(N1, 24.08.2026)

https://n1info.rs/biznis/koliko-mladih-u-srbiji-ne-radi-niti-se-skoluje/