Transition from School to Work in Times of Economic Crisis: The Case of Spanish Young People Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET)

The school-to-work transition in Spain has become much more difficult and compared to years past, with many young people experiencing long periods of temporary employment, unemployment or inactivity. Various factors such as inadequate educational attainment, high unemployment rates, and weak correspondence between schooling and current employment opportunities have been accounted for this. Young people are more likely to drop out of the labour force when there is a severe job shortage, whereas the already inactive ones are less motivated to look for a job. Other potential determinants that may account for young people’s high inactivity in Spain include low wages, low educational achievement, extended parental support and inadequate labour market programmes. However, little is known about the characteristics of those young people who are inactive with respect to education or training as well as labour market, the so-called NEET group, the obstacles they face in entering the labour market and how they differ in comparison to their non-NEET counterparts. This study aims to explore the main characteristics of the Spanish young people not in education, employment or training. It also aims to compare them with their non-NEET counterparts in terms of education, gender, social networks, and family background. The analysis is based on a representative sample from 2016 of Spanish individuals between 18 and 35 years old.