Youth unemployment bucking generally positive trend

Despite the fact Denmark is enjoying an almost unprecedented period of high employment, it is not all good news on the job front

Based on figures from the national statistics keeper Danmarks Statistik, the trade union for business leaders, Ledernes Hovedorganisation, has calculated that unemployment amongst young people has not been as high as it is now for decades.

The figures reveal that 7.7 percent of 25 to 29-year-olds are unemployed. This is almost twice as many as in the population as a whole, where the figure is 3.9 percent, DR Nyheder reports.

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The trend has been noticeable for some time. Before the financial crisis when unemployment was also low, there was a general level of 3.4 percent, but 4.5 percent of 25 to 29-year-olds were unemployed.

More relevance wanted
To alleviate the situation, the union would like to see a greater correlation between the requirements of the labour market and the courses taken by students during their education.

“It’s very unfortunate for the young people themselves as well as being bad for society in general at a time when we are short of labour in a variety of areas,” said the union’s head analyst Kim Møller Laursen.

“Neither the young people or employers are well served by a course that can’t be used immediately when a person is finished. So all educational courses ought to be fine-tuned to a much higher degree to suit the needs of the labour market,” he added.