青年失业率居高不下是多数欧盟成员国面临的严峻挑战。欧债危机背景下，南欧重债国由于宏观经济形势不佳，出现青年失业率畸高的现象，多数新成员国的形势不容乐观，北欧国家和英国也有各自的问题。相比之下，以德国为代表的欧洲大陆社团主义国家的青年就业状况相对较好，这与其运行多年的“双重学徒制”有密切关系。2013年，欧盟采取共同行动，推出“青年保证”和“青年就业倡议”计划，为有效降低青年失业带来了新的希望。
High youth unemployment is one of the most serious challenges confronting most of the EU member states. In the context of the European debt crisis，the heavily indebted southern European countries were straggling with unacceptably high youth unemployment due to their poor macroeconomic performances，and the situation in most of the new Member States was not optimistic. In addition，both the Nordic countries and the UK have their own problems as well. In contrast，the labour market -- youth employment included -- in Germany，a typical corporatist continental European country，performs relatively well，which has much to do with its “dual apprenticeship system” that has operated for years. In 2013，the EU adopted a series of common measures such as the “Youth Guarantee” and “Youth Employment Initiative” in order to effectively reduce youth unemployment.
