Annual Report Youth Monitor: key indicators 2015-2019

Since the implementation of the Youth Act five years ago, municipalities are responsible for all forms of youth assistance. The Annual Report of the Youth Monitor outlines the use of youth care over this particular period. In addition, five key indicators present the situation among young people in the broader sense, including children living in families on income support, third-year secondary general students at VMBO, young registered crime suspects and alcohol consumption.

More young people receiving youth care in 2019

Last year, 443,000 young people received youth care. This constitutes 10 percent of all young people under the age of 23. In 2015, this share stood at 8.5 percent. The number of young people using some form of youth care has increased since 2015, in particular the number of young people on youth assistance. This increase was mainly due to the fact that youth assistance lasted longer. New, provisional figures over the first six months of 2020 show that the number of youth care recipients appears to decline slightly.

Number of children on income support continued to decline in 2019

At the end of 2019, there were 204 thousand minors (under age 18) living in families who were receiving income support. This is equivalent to 6.1 percent of all minors. In 2015, this share stood at 6.6 percent. Until 2016, the share of children on income support was still increasing. The aftermath of the previous economic crisis and a larger influx of refugees were the main driving factors. The percentage share has declined over the past three years.

Fewer third-year VMBO students

In the school year 2019/’20, there were nearly 194 thousand students in the third year of secondary general education. Over 51 percent of these students were enrolled at VMBO level. This was still 54 percent in 2015/’16. The decline in the share of VMBO students is mainly seen in the basic vocational track. Over the years, the share of pupils in this track (VMBO-basis) has fallen while numbers have increased in senior general secondary education (HAVO) and pre-university education (VWO).

Youth labour participation up in 2019

In 2019, a share of 68 percent in the group of 15 to 26-year-olds were in paid work, equivalent to over 1.7 million young people. The share of young people in work has risen steadily as of 2014. Young people who have left education are more likely to be in work than young people still attending education: last year, 83 percent of young people not in education were in work, against 62 percent of young people still in education. On a side note, the share of young people in paid work dropped significantly in Q2 after the outbreak of the coronavirus crisis this year. The third quarter of this year brought moderate recovery in the labour participation rate among young people in education.

No change in alcohol consumption levels between 2015 and 2019

The share of young people aged 12 to 24 years who have consumed alcohol did not change substantially in the period 2015-2019. This applies to both age groups, i.e. 12 to 17 years and young adults aged 18 to 24 years. In 2019, 61 percent of young people aged 12 to 24 years had consumed alcohol. This applied to 35 percent of 12 to 17-year-olds and 84 percent of young adults.

Fewer young people are crime suspects

According to provisional figures, in 2019 nearly 55 thousand young people aged 12 to 24 years were registered crime suspects, equivalent to 1.8 percent of all people in this age group. This represents a modest increase on 2018, moving away from the downward trend that was seen in previous years. In 2015, a share of 2.3 percent in the young population were registered as crime suspects (ILO definition).