Indicator 8.20 Young people neither in employment nor in education and training

The indicator measures the share of the population aged 15 to 29 who is not employed and not involved in education or training. The numerator of the indicator refers to persons who meet the following two conditions: (a) they are not employed (i.e. unemployed or outside the labour force according to the International Labour Organisation definition) and (b) they have not received any education or training (i.e. neither formal nor non-formal) in the four weeks preceding the Labour Force Survey (LFS).

Indicator is used to monitor progress towards SDG 8 on decent work and economic growth and SDG 4 on ensuring inclusive and quality education for all, which are embedded in the European Commission’s Priorities under the ‘Supporting people, strengthening our societies and our social model’ and ‘A new plan for Europe’s sustainable prosperity and competitiveness’. This indicator can be considered as identical with global SDG indicator 8.6.1 “Proportion of youth (aged 15-24 years) not in education, employment or training”. Furthermore, it is included as main indicator in the Social Scoreboard for the European Pillar of Social Rights.

The European Pillar of Social Rights, jointly proclaimed by the European Commission, the European Parliament and the European Council in 2017, sets out 20 key principles and rights essential for fair and well-functioning labour markets and social protection systems. The European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan, adopted in 2021, turns the Principles into concrete actions to benefit citizens. It also proposes an ambitious employment target of 78 % of the population aged 20 to 64 for the EU to reach by 2030. In support of this, the Action Plan proposes to halve the gender employment gap by 2030 compared with 2019 and to decrease the rate of young people neither in employment nor in education or training (NEET) aged 15 to 29 to 9 % by 2030.

The long-term objective for Indicator is to strengthen the capacity of domestic financial institutions to encourage and expand access to banking, insurance, and financial services for all.