Individual and Structural Causes of Neet - a Case Study of Austria

Compared to other EU member states, Austria has one of the lowest youth unemployment rates, an above-average graduation rate, and a well-developed dual system of vocational education and training. Nonetheless, ongoing structural changes induce labor market conditions that particularly bar less well-educated young people from successfully and permanently entering the labor market. Consequently, between 2006 and 2011 the proportion of Austrian youth (aged between 16 and 24 years) Not in Education, Training or Employment (NEET) leveled off at slightly below ten percent.

In order to investigate the phenomenon of NEET in Austria comprehensively, our research is guided by the following questions: (i) How can the social composition of the NEET-population be characterized? (ii) What are the relevant key factors that drive young adults on the pathway to NEET? (iii) How long do young adults remain at NEET-status? (iv) What are the key determinants that help overcoming NEET?

Our analyses are based on the Austrian sample census from 2006 to 2011 and we rely on a descriptive analysis as well as on a regression-based path analysis. First results reveal gender-specific risk factors for becoming NEET including early school leaving, poor health/disabilities, involvement in child care activities, and unemployment experiences at the individual as well as an active labor market policy and a broad supply of suitable jobs at the regional level. The heterogeneity of NEET requires individual measures for young people at risk.