Eurofound published a report that reveals how the greatest urgency lies with the 14 million young people currently not in employment, education or training (NEETs). The report shows that the economic loss to society of not integrating NEETs is estimated at €153 billion, in addition to the inestimable costs for their disengagement from society in general.

The 'NEETs - Young people not in employment, education or training: Characteristics, costs and policy responses in Europe' report published by Eurofound, the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, reveals that the economic loss to society of not integrating NEETs is estimated at €153 billion. Currently, in Europe, there is 14 million young people not in employment, education or training (NEETs). A report published in June 2012, showed that the number of NEETs (those not in employment, education or training) continued to rise in 2011.

According to the report, being NEET has a negative effect on the individual as well as on society as a whole. Eurofound estimated that the economic loss due to the disengagement of young people from the labour market was €153 billion. This is a conservative estimate and it corresponds to 1.2% of European GDP. There are, again, great variations between countries, but Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia and Poland are paying an especially high price of 2% or more of GDP.

Eurofound also discovered that in comparison with their non-NEET counterparts, NEETs have a dramatically lower level of political interest, political and social engagement, and a lower level of trust. This is in particularly true for NEETs in the English-speaking, and continental and east European countries. However, NEETs in Mediterranean countries seem to have a higher political engagement, with large numbers of young people occupied in the same issues. However, common for all is that they did not identify with the main actors of the political area. The European Foundation argues that young people have to be set on a long-term, sustainable pathway, and that youth employment measures should be client-centred, not provider-focused. They need good-quality, stable and sustainable employment. This includes equipping them with qualifications needed for successful labour market integration.