The generation blocked. Why does Romania have the highest percentage of young people who do not find their place in society

Romania is in the first place in the European Union in the NEET young (Not in Employment, Education or Training): 19.4% of those between the ages of 15 and 29 do not follow any form of education and do not work, the data of Eurostat shows. The percentage is almost double compared to the European average. Psychologist Ioana Sabina Bota points out that beyond the economic difficulties, behind these figures are hidden and deep emotional and motivational blockages.

Photo source: Shutterstock

According to the latest Eurostat study, published in August 2025, the European average is 11%, and the EU lens is the reduction below 9% by 2030.

Romania, first place in Europe

Romania is not the only country in this situation, but the gap towards the northern states and western Europe is huge. If in the Netherlands the Neet rate is only 4.9%, and in Sweden 6.3%, in the South and East the values ​​are much higher: Italy (15.2%), Greece (14.2%), Bulgaria (12.7%).

Another problematic aspect is the gender difference. In Romania, 14% of young men are NEET, but the percentage climbs to 25.2% among young women. This 11 -percentage gap places us among the countries with the highest gender inequalities in Europe. The OECD explains the situation by the fact that many young people come out of education and do not enter the labor market because they get married early, have children or remain stuck in informal work (cosmetics, home services).

Moreover, in Romania most of the young people are out of work and do not register as unemployed. Of the total of 19.4%, only 5.4% appear as unemployed jobs, and almost 14% are considered “economically inactive”. In other words, the statistics reflect not only the lack of jobs, but also the lack of active participation in the labor market.

The phenomenon has long -term consequences: every year spent outside the school and labor reduces the chances of reintegration and increases the risk of poverty, marginalization and emigration. While Germany or the Netherlands are already approaching the European target of 9%, Romania seems blocked at the opposite pole, with a generation between school dropout, poorly paid jobs and lack of confidence in a future here.

The “meaning crisis”, beyond statistics

“When we talk about the young people in Romania who do not go to school and have no job, it is not enough to look at the figures. Behind the 19% percentage are personal stories, trusted breaks and emotional barriers. In the cabinet I have often seen that the lack of direction does not come from the absence of material resources, but also a lot. Somewhere.she explains.

School dropout or college giving up is not just financial difficulties. “A teenager who drops school at the age of 16, or a student who gives up after the first year of college, does not do this just because he has no money or because he is disappointed by the system. In the game than to risk failure ”, shows Ioana Sabina Bota.

Therefore, purely economic or statistical solutions are not sufficient. “NEET problem is not solved only with statistics or government programs. There are necessary spaces in which young people are listened to, validated and supported to rediscover their motivation. In other countries, psychological counseling and vocational orientation are integrated into school and employment centers. contribute ”she points out.

The phenomenon has direct consequences on mental health. “For some of them, the lack of activity leads to anxiety, depression and even addictions. For others, paradoxically, it can be a temporary comfort zone, especially if the family supports them financially. But the long -term effects are dramatic: a young man who spends years outside the school and the work loses his training for the responsibility.”

From the psychological perspective, stigmatization does not help. “We should move the emphasis from guilt to understanding. It does not make sense to say” young people do not want to work “or” are lazy “. The reality is much more complex: the lack of models, the fear of failure, the absence of a community to shoot them. says the psychologist.

From this angle, the NEET phenomenon turns into a sense crisis, not just an economic one. “Instead of looking at the phenomenon only as an economic problem, we must treat it as a sense crisis. Because, if over half a million young people feel that they do not take place in school, nor on the labor market, then what we lose as a company is not only the workforce, but also the generation that should have taken the confidence in the future.”

As seen from society

On forums, Romanians are continually discussing it. For example, on Reddit Romania, a user wrote that: “Some of the 19% work in black. Some of them work in the yard. Some of them are bombers. Some of them are illiterate. Some of them are poor for the earth. Some of them are rotten ordinary. Some of them are a mixture of the above groups. Much of them are to you.”

Someone else added: “This is the result of the work of work. Most of the time, the ROI for an entrepreneur to take unexpected young people.” Another has drawn attention to how the statistics can be misinterpreted: “This is the perfect example of statistics that is not put in context. It should be considered that many of them may live in rural areas and work either in their own yard, or do agricultural work. Most likely, another significant percentage can work in black, and so it is wrong, or maybe there are no other people, Country.

A comment that attracted the attention of the community was that of a user who personally found in Eurostat figures: “When I see these statistics I realize how easy it is to distort people's perception of reality. I am not employed, I work on my SRL 12 hours a day, having 2 faculties made (even if it is not relevant to the problem), so I am part of this 19% that is neither employed nor learns for the moment. Easy to fall into this alarmist bait that seems to be a 100% bankrupt country where no one does anything. ”

Another voice led the discussion in the area of ​​gender differences: “The problem is more general, we have the lowest women's participation rate in the labor market. Only 50% and something. The reasons are usually getting married early and taking care of children or working in black. Example, manicuris. Women and men are extremely small.

Another user has discussed the issue of mentality and models in society: “But it is not their fault, the society is to blame, the parents, that you see that you are doing better without school. Show a student, who has the pants and jackets, that we cannot afford, and an evasionist of car dismantling. And you see who is doing better in life. That new clothes.

Someone else spoke directly about the minimum wage issue: “It still works in black, or day (especially in rural areas). 2500 lei is some money … (…). A minimum wage on the economy should ensure at the very least some minimum conditions to live: shelter (rented, that we have no claims to get a bank, a good, food, food, Where you should not choose between the situation and break up with something essential like food. Cigarette break at a few hours, to say thanks.

Just as frustrated, another user wrote: “When everyone wants to hire a minimum experience, on junior salaries, what to expect? And this in any field!”

The issue of part-time work regulation also appeared in the debate: “One of the problems is the regulation of part-time work and its surcharge (CAS and CASS). I really do not understand why no government understands that the overgoxing of part-time jobs actually lasts tens of thousands of young people outside the field of work.”

Someone else replied that “I understand very well. Only they are not able to do enforcement. They over-taxed the part time because many people were part-time on paper, but they worked full time and received the difference in the envelope. Which … The whole fault of the state was, that they were not able to make Calumea controls.”

The NEET phenomenon is, at the same time, a statistical reality, a social wound and an alarm signal for the future. Romania loses tens of thousands of young people from the school and from the Labor Square every year, and every year of inaction deepens the break between generations. Eurostat data show the size of the problem, the voices in society surprise their nuances, and psychologists warn that beyond the figures the confidence of a whole generation is played in their own future. The question remains that press beyond graphs and statistics: How many of these young people will have the chance to return to the game and how many will remain lost between a school that does not convince him and a labor market that did not wait?