NEET – young people vulnerable to social exclusion

Abstract

NEET phenomenon is now one of the most important social issues that require quick and decisive intervention in the majority of countries and regions in the European Union. The problem concerns the situation of young people, who are outside the sphere of employment and education. The traditional indicators for labour market participation are frequently criticized for their limited relevance to young people and they appear to be no longer sufficient for the analysis of complex condition of the young generation. Indicators of the NEET group can explain the bad situation of young people in the labour market as they include an analysis not only of the active labour force, but also of the general youth population. Young people who belong to the category of NEET for various reasons at the same time do not learn, work and do not prepare for the profession in the form of training.

Not only the scale of the problem is alarming, but also a significant increase in the NEETS rate of the past few years. The percentage of people who are NEET is no longer negligible. In consequence, European Union has recently started to focus its attention on the NEET group. Being NEET has severe adverse consequences for the individual, society and the economy. It is an obvious waste of the potential of young people and may lead to a wide range of social disadvantages both in the short and in the long term. This article applies to understanding the NEET category as a social problem, describing its scale, dynamics and selected features. The category reveals a waste of energy and skills characterized by young people, which must arouse public concern from the perspective of the labour market.