Comparative analysis of youth unemployment in the Republic of Croatia and EU countries

Nezaposlenost mladih, koji su temeljni ljudski kapital svakog društva i gospodarstva, je jedan od gorućih problema današnjice. Europska Unija na razini zemalja članica bilježi visoke stope nezaposlenosti mladih osoba, u nekim zemljama i preko 50 %. Republika Hrvatska se već godinama suočava visokom nezaposlenošću mladih. Nezaposleni mladi čine trećinu ukupnog broja nezaposlenih u RH što je puno veće od prosjeka stopa nezaposlenosti u EU gdje iznosi oko 20 %. Ta situacija može, kako u EU tako i u RH, dovesti do dugoročnih ekonomskih, političkih, psiholoških i socijalnih posljedica koje utječu na pojedince i društvo u cjelini. Zato je cilj ovog rada analizirati nezaposlenost mladih osoba u Republici Hrvatskoj i zemljama Europske unije. Radom će se odgovoriti na pitanja zašto dolazi do nezaposlenosti mladih u EU i RH, koja su obilježja nekih zemalja članica po pitanju nezaposlenosti mladih, zašto dolazi do rasta NEET populacije i dati pregled mjera i programa EU donesenih u svrhu ublažavanja nezaposlenosti mladih te mjera za ublažavanje siromaštva na razini Republike Hrvatske. Problem nezaposlenosti mladih se ne može riješiti u kratkom roku pa je potrebno adekvatno i pravovremeno kreirati i provoditi mjere za ublažavanje nezaposlenosti mladih kako na razini EU, tako i na nacionalnoj razini zemalja članica EU.Youth unemployment, which is the fundamental human capital of every society and economy, is one of the burning problems of today. At EU level, the European Union has high youth unemployment rates, in some countries over 50%. he Republic of Croatia has been facing high youth unemployment for years. Unemployed young people make up a third of the total number of unemployed in the Republic of Croatia, which is much higher than the average unemployment rate in the EU, where it is around 20%. This situation can, both in the EU and in the Republic of Croatia, lead to long-term economic, political, psychological and social consequences that affect individuals and society as a whole. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to analyze youth unemployment in the Republic of Croatia and European Union countries. The paper will answer the questions why youth unemployment occurs in the EU and the Republic of Croatia, what are the characteristics of some member states in terms of youth unemployment, why is the NEET population growing and give an overview of EU measures and programs adopted to alleviate youth unemployment and mitigation measures poverty at the level of the Republic of Croatia. The problem of youth unemployment cannot be solved in the short term, so it is necessary to adequately and timely create and implement measures to alleviate youth unemployment both at the EU level and at the national level of EU member states