Young Spaniards find it harder than other Europeans to find first job

Young Spaniards spend longer looking for their first job and when they eventually find it, they have less job security than their European peers, a new study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has found.

Spain has the highest proportion of 15-24 year olds who are on part-time contracts and it takes a young Spaniard an average of six years to find a permanent position, according to the study report entitled "Skills, Strategy Diagnostic Report for Spain 2015."

This contrasts sharply with Denmark, where people aged between 15-24 need just two years to find a permanent job.

The OECD also discovered that 71 percent of people in that age bracket in Spain have a temporary job and they also make up 22 percent of all part-time workers in the country, over twice the European Union average of 9.9 and almost four times the OECD average of 5.8 percent.

The report also shows that Spain has one of the highest proportions of youngsters, who in Spain are known as NiNi's or NEET -- people who neither study nor work, with a proportion only worsened by Mexico, Italy and Greece.

"Young NEET are at risk of becoming long term unemployed and more difficult to integrate in the future," warns the report, which also highlights Spanish students are below the OECD average in reading, mathematics and science.

"In addition, students in Spain are less likely than their peers in other European countries to participate in vocational education and training, and even when they do so they are less likely to participate in work-based learning, which has been found to support effective transitions from education to employment," said the report. Endit