NEET rate in Germany: More and more young people without jobs or training

More and more young people in Germany are neither employed nor in training. The corresponding proportion of 20 to 24 year olds in this country was ten percent in 2025, as the Federal Statistical Office announced based on international comparative data from the European statistics authority Eurostat.

The so-called NEET rate has risen continuously in recent years - in 2022 it was still 8.8 percent. NEET internationally refers to the group of 20 to 24 year olds who are neither learning nor working: "not in employment, education or training".

The reasons for the increasing numbers are diverse: The statisticians referred to the national education report for 2024, according to which 25 percent of those affected in Germany were considered job-seekers. However, the vast majority of 66 percent were not available to the labor market.

The most frequently cited reasons for this were caring responsibilities (20 percent) and health restrictions (18 percent). A further 17 percent were not looking for work for educational reasons - for example because they were waiting for a study or training place.

A high proportion of young people who are neither in education, training nor in a job poses numerous social risks. These include unemployment, low participation, increasing crime and political frustration.

In a European comparison, Germany is below the average: this was 12.9 percent for the 27 EU states. The NEET rate in 2025 was lowest in the Netherlands at 5.6 percent, followed by Sweden with 7.3 percent and the Czech Republic with 7.6 percent.

The rate was highest in Romania at 22.8 percent. In Bulgaria (17.3 percent) and France (16.2 percent), an above-average number of young people are neither in training nor in employment. No current data is available for Luxembourg.

In Germany, young women are affected slightly more often at 10.5 percent than young men at 9.6 percent. This difference can also be seen in the EU average.

However, an inconsistent picture emerges when comparing cities and rural areas. While in Germany young people in larger cities (10.6 percent) are more likely to be without a job or training than in rural areas (7.9 percent), the situation is the other way around in the EU as a whole. Young people in rural regions are affected significantly more often at 15.4 percent.