European Youth Media Days 2014

Unemployment issues divide Europe into two

by Desirée Widell, Journalist, Sweden

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Spain was the focus of the “Rising up over giving up” event. Three out of four panel speakers were from Spain and could report on a big crisis in the country.
All the panel speakers worked with organizations that try to counteract the problem with youth unemployment, which is very high in Spain. With youth unemployment of 53,9 per cent, Spain is one of the countries in Europe rated with the highest unemployment rate.

Eric Labuske, Activist for the youth development organization in Spain Juventud Sin Futuro, has seen the impact that the unemployment has done to Spain.
“Everyone is leaving Spain to seek a better life abroad. 4000 people left Spain from 2008 to 2012, and I think that number is even higher now”, says Eric Labuske.

The jobs in Spain are not matching the expertise of the citizens. It is nearly impossible to find a job that suits your profile, your education and qualities. He speaks from his own experience when he talks about starting up your own business in France versus Spain. In France it doesn’t cost that much and it is easy, but in Spain, he says it is “impossible for young people to be self-employed, unless they are rich”.

That is the big difference between the northern and the southern Europe; the total youth unemployment rate is 10,5 per cent, but the rates in southern Europe is a lot higher. In Greece, it is 56 per cent of the young people and in Croatia it is 49 per cent. The lowest youth unemployment rate in Europe is in Germany with only 7,8 per cent.
The audience started to discuss the problem. The main question to Eric Labuske was if the unemployment issues make Europe smaller, since people move over frontiers to find jobs, and that should count as a good thing. Eric Labuske replied that the Spanish citizens are grateful for the possibilities that EU gives them.

“This is saving us, or else we would be stuck in Spain. But it is not easy to be forced to leave your family, friends. “We can not wait for a change, but we can fight for it”.

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