35. How many low-educated adults are employed?

VET can be a route to medium-level education attainment and to better access to the labour market.

The indicator below is the percentage of the population aged 20-64 with a lower level of education attainment (ISCED 0-2) who are employed. It can be compared directly to indicator No 3060 (employment rate for 20-64 year-olds).

Figure 35: Employment rate for 20-64 year-olds with lower level of educational attainment (%)

Source: Eurostat, EU labour force survey.

Key points

In 2016, the EU average employment rate for low-educated adults was 53.6%. Portugal had the highest employment rate for low-educated adults at 64.7%, followed by the United Kingdom (62.1%), Denmark (61.8%), and Estonia (61.8%). The rate was lowest in Slovakia (35.9%).

Between 2010 and 2016 the EU employment rate for low-educated adults has risen slightly, by 0.2 percentage points. This EU average change covers quite large differences between Member Statesover the same period, Hungary and Lithuania reported the largest rise (respectively by 14.6 and 12.7 percentage points) in the employment rate for low-educated adults, while Cyprus and Greece experienced the sharpest drop (respectively by 9.9 and 9.7 percentage points).

Among the non-EU countries for which data are available, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (33.4%) had the lowest employment rate for low-educated adults (lower than the rate in Slovakia), while the rate in Iceland (79.5%) was far higher than in any of the EU Member States.

Table 35: Employment rate for 20-64 year-olds with lower level of educational attainment (%)

Arrows ↗ or ↘ signal a positive or negative trend based on more than two data points and of magnitude 0.1 per year or more. Trends based on more than two data points but of smaller magnitude are indicated by →; trends based on two points only are marked ▪. Trends are estimated by means of regression models.
The 2014 “b” flags in the Eurostat online tables have been ignored on the basis of other relevant Eurostat metadata.
(b) Break after 2010. Therefore baseline data not included. (u) Eurostat: "low reliability". (z) Eurostat: "not applicable". (e) Eurostat: "estimated".

Source: Eurostat, EU labour force survey.