Tech Workers in Southern Europe Can’t Compete With Their Northern Neighbors

Despite the fact that economists regard high and rising unemployment as the biggest problem facing the euro zone, no one really knows why unemployment has spiked so high, so quickly in southern Europe, particularly among young workers.

Importantly, southern Europe appears to be lagging behind in one important place: science and technology. Eurostat provides data on job seekers aged 25-34 who have a university degree in science or technology or who have worked in either industry—so-called “HRST” workers. In northern Europe, these workers are in high demand. In France, for example, only 5.1% of these 25-34 year-old HRST workers are unemployed, but 17.9% of non-HRST workers in this age group are unemployed. In Germany, the difference is even more dramatic; 1.4% of HRST workers are unemployed, but 10.8% of non-HRST workers are unemployed. The discrepancies boil down to the fact that in northern Europe, it pays to have skills in science and technology.

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