The latest figures on youth unemployment show that almost 15 per cent of young people between the ages of 15 and 24 are without a job, a level that has not been seen since 1984.

“It is extremely difficult for young people to get onto the labour market. We are in a situation in which not many new positions are being posted on the Internet or in the newspapers,” says Nordea Chief Economist Helge J. Pedersen.

The problem for young people is that since not many new jobs are being created, it is difficult for them to get a job and thus get a foot into the labour market.

“You have to keep young people attached to the labour market… but in the longer term it’s about making the Danish economy competitive, with a good framework for Danish companies. Then the jobs will come,” Pedersen says.

He adds that a new slump in the European economy makes it unlikely that the Danish labour market will improve before sometime in 2013.

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