With the massaging of employment figures now taken for granted, news is emerging on the truth behind Portugal’s so called “Generation nem-nem” – the almost 250,000 young people aged between 15 and 24 who are not studying but also don’t have a job. In the north and Alentejo, “generation nem-nem” makes up for 14.6% of the population. According to Eurostat, these youngsters are NEETs (neither in employment, education or training).
In 2014, NEETs or nem-nems – however you like to call them – made up for 12%.
The current situation is much worse – and rises to 15.2% if you consider young people up to the age of 34, news reports claim.
Talking to Jornal de Notícias, sociologist Manuel Carlos Silva considers the data “deplorable”, highlighting the age that young people finally manage to leave home as around 29, against an EU average of 26.
According to statistics put out by the OECD, Portugal’s government should “closely monitor” this “nem-nem” generation which has already cost around €2.7 billion in social support.
