Szczecin – where young people have it easiest to find a job

According to a Eurostat report, Szczecin has the lowest youth unemployment rate in the whole EU! The capital of the Westpomeranian Region topped not only the biggest cities in Poland, but also other major European cities.

The report was issued by Eurostat, the statistical office of the EU. It is concerned with youth unemployment in all EU member states, looking at unemployment among individuals aged 15 to 24.  According to the publication, the overall youth unemployment level in 2021 was 16.6%. This rate is higher than for employees in total, which was at 7% for the EU at large. 

Based on available data, youth unemployment in Poland was lower than in other EU states. In the  group aged 15-24, the unemployment rate was 11.9%, and in the group aged 15-29, it was 7.2%. In comparison, the overall unemployment rate in Poland as of the end of 2022 was only 2.9%.

Eurostat also investigated how young people coped on the labour market in major European cities. The office selected 20 locations in our country considered to be metropolitan areas.

Szczecin came on top of the list of the EU cities where young people had it easiest to find a job in 2021. Our city led the EU in this category, with youth unemployment (people aged 15-24) at only 2.5%. At 2.6%,  the Slovak capital city of Bratislava came second. Poznań took the third position, with a youth unemployment rate of 2.8%.

“We are happy to see this outcome. Now, Szczecin can present itself to young people from all over Europe as an attractive city with strong job prospects,” said Deputy Mayor of Szczecin Michał Przepiera. “This low unemployment rate could be achieved through our consistent measures over the years at the interface of business, higher education and local government. We are dedicated to promoting Szczecin among investors as a good place for business. Young residents of Szczecins are creative and have an entrepreneurial streak. What is more, Szczecin’s employers are open-minded and do not shy away from working with young people. In the last years, we were able to bring many interesting and big-scale projects into Szczecin, creating a large number of attractive jobs.

Below are the 2021 unemployment rates among young people aged 15 to 24 for all the Polish cities taken into consideration by Eurostat:

- Szczecin - 2.5%

- Poznań - 2.8%

- Warsaw - 5.5%

- Gdańsk - 6.1%

- Kraków - 6.5%

- Białystok - 7.9%

- Olsztyn - 8.1%

- Opole - 9.5%

- Wrocław - 10%

- Radom - 13%

- Bielsko-Biała - 13.3%

- Katowice - 14.3%

- Częstochowa - 15.6%

- Kielce - 16.7%

- Tarnów - 16.7%

- Rzeszów - 16.8%

- Bydgoszcz-Toruń - 19.4%

- Lublin - 19.6 %

Eurostat is a statistical office established by the European Union in 1953. It is based in Luxembourg. Eurostat’s officials produce all kinds of European-wide statistics in line with harmonised definitions, classifications and methodologies.