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Nav-sjefen er bekymret – flere unge voksne er ikke i jobb eller utdanning
Andelen unge som verken står i jobb eller er i utdanning, øker for første gang siden Nav startet sine målinger. Det bekymrer Nav-direktøren.
www.mn24.no
Translate to English:
The head of Nav is concerned – more young adults are neither working nor in education
The proportion of young people who are neither employed nor in education is increasing for the first time since Nav started its measurements. This worries the Nav director.
"We and employers in Norway must work hard to reverse this trend. More than ever, we need the workforce that young people can provide. We know that there are many in this group who both can and want to work, and we must ensure that they get the opportunity," says Labor and Welfare Director Hans Christian Holte in a press release.
The development Holte is talking about is the number of young people between the ages of 20 and 29 who are neither working nor in education. Since 2017, when Nav started compiling the statistics, the number has decreased, but last year the trend reversed for the first time. Nearly 4,000 more people in this age group were without a job or education by the end of the year.
This means that a total of 111,000 people in this age group are in this situation, equivalent to 16 percent of those between 20 and 29 years old.
More measures are coming soon
Labor and Inclusion Minister Tonje Brenna (Ap) shares Holte's concern.
"Too many are outside the workforce, and this has been the case for a long time. We must manage to do something about this. It is negative for the individuals and negative for the country. Therefore, I am focused on getting more people into work and fewer on welfare. The government will soon present a parliamentary report with several measures to get more people into work and education," she says to NTB.
Half of the young people in this situation receive welfare benefits, while the other half receive nothing from Nav. Additionally, there has been reported growth in the number of young recipients of work assessment allowance who are outside the workforce.
Brenna points out that the government has already implemented several measures in hopes of reversing the trend.
"We have introduced a youth guarantee. This will ensure early, close, and tailored follow-up for those under 30, with a dedicated contact person at Nav. This year, we are spending 11 billion kroner on labor market measures, and we have a work-oriented introduction program to get more refugees into jobs. This will yield results."
"Must be taken with utmost seriousness"
Exclusion is also increasing generally in the entire measured group between 20 and 66 years. The figures show that one in five people of working age is outside of work and education.
The increase is 26,000 people since the end of 2022. The total number is 685,000.
"This is a slight increase, which I would say is expected. A good portion is explained by more refugees from Ukraine. Unemployment has also increased after a period of a very strong labor market, which in itself suggests a somewhat higher level of exclusion," says Holte.
The number is still 4 percent lower in 2023 than in 2019, but the development nonetheless worries the Labor and Welfare Director.
"The fact that it is now increasing somewhat must, of course, be taken with the utmost seriousness. We must collaborate well across sectors and between public authorities and the business community to ensure that we get more of those who are outside, inside."
Refugees constitute a large proportion
As Holte himself mentions, a large part of the increase is Ukrainian refugees. Of 38,100 Ukrainian refugees of working age, over 30,000 were unemployed at the end of 2023.
Without the Ukrainian refugees, the number of excluded people would be 655,000. Even excluding the Ukrainians from the 2022 and 2023 figures, there would still have been a slight increase in exclusion.
"It is important that Ukrainians are given a chance in the Norwegian labor market. Many have skills that we can greatly benefit from and are eager to contribute," says Holte.
The counties with the highest proportion of exclusion were Østfold, Vestfold, Telemark, and Agder, with over 22 percent. The lowest were in Akershus, Vestland, and Rogaland, all of which had under 19 percent.
Among the municipalities, Sogndal had the lowest proportion of exclusion, with 14 percent, while Vega had the highest, with 33 percent.
