Youth employment and temporary contracts in Europe: Trends, drivers, and institutions

This paper examines youth employment and temporary youth employment across the EU-27 countries and the UK, focussing on the role of labour market institutions. Using EU Labour Force Survey data, we analyse trends and drivers of both overall and temporary youth employment and assess how institutional factors influence these outcomes. Our results show that while youth employment rates tend to converge across countries during recoveries, temporary youth employment remains segmented, especially where employment protection is stricter. Higher levels of education and job quality are associated with better youth employment outcomes and reduced exposure to temporary contracts, consistent with established findings in the literature. Overall, the findings highlight the role of institutional arrangements in shaping youth labour market adjustment and suggest that convergence in headline employment outcomes can coexist with persistent segmentation in contract types across Europe.