They are dubbed the “nem nem” (‘neither one nor the other’) generation. A continuation of “geração à rasca” (‘struggling generation’), the forgotten hundreds of thousands blighted by the austerity years, they are aged between 20 and 24, no longer in any kind of education and out of work.
Portugal has 96,000 in this unenviable position, situating the country in just over the European average for out-of-work, out-of-education youngsters.
Worse off are the young people of Spain, Bulgaria, Italy, Greece, Croatia and Romania, and better off are those in all northern European countries.
Eurostat has issued the results for its latest study: “Education, work, both or none?” ahead of tomorrow’s International Youth Day, explaining that “potentially any type of education or training (formal or non-formal) should improve skills and employability”.
It adds that Portugal’s nem-nem generation has remained “relatively stable” since 2006, which actually means that the situation for the country’s youth has not improved since the start of the financial crisis.
