1.
1
Update of Employment and
Educational Attainment Indicators
January 2015
Education at a Glance
Interim Report:

2.
The social consequences of the crisis were
still deepening in 2013, especially among
the most vulnerable groups such as low-
educated young adults

3.
Chapter 1
TO WHAT LEVEL HAVE ADULTS STUDIED?

4.
One in six younger adults have not reached upper
secondary
In most OECD countries more than four out of five
younger adults have attained at least an upper
secondary education, implying that one in six of
them have qualifications below upper secondary
education.

5.
One in six younger adults have not reached upper
secondary education Chart 1.1
Educational attainment among younger (25-34 year-olds) adults (2013)
52 52
39 39
35 34
27 27
23 21 18 18 18 17 16 15 15 14 14 14 13 13 13 13 12 11 11 10 9 9 9 7 6 6 6 6 6
2
25 23
31
45
24
40
50
33
54
39
39 41
36
43 47
42 41 40 38 38
46
36
60
56
44
64
45 47 46
51
47
35
64
52
65
37
57
31
22 25
29
15
41
26
23
40
22
41 43 41
47
40 37
43 44 46 48 48
41
51
27
31
44
25
45 43 45
40
45
58
30
42
29
57
37
67
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Turkey
Mexico
Portugal
Brazil
Spain
Colombia
Italy
Iceland
Chile
NewZealand
Belgium
Denmark
Norway
OECDaverage
Greece
Netherlands
France
Australia
Luxembourg
UnitedKingdom
Latvia
Ireland
Germany
Hungary
Estonia
Austria
UnitedStates
Switzerland
Israel
Finland
Sweden
Canada
SlovakRepublic
Poland
CzechRepublic
RussianFederation
Slovenia
Korea
Below upper secondary Upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary Tertiary

6.
Lower proportion of older adults have tertiary
credentials
In 2013, on average across OECD countries, 34% of
older adults (55-64 year-olds) have not attained
upper secondary level.
Brazil, Colombia, Italy, Mexico, Portugal, Spain and
Turkey have the highest proportion of older adults
with low qualifications as well as the highest share
of younger adults with low qualifications.

7.
Lower proportion of older adults have tertiary
credentials Chart 1.1
Educational attainment among older (55-64 year-olds) adults (2013)
79
74
79
72
62
69
56
35
62
39
42
30
18
34
49
35
38 39
27 30
12
41
15
24
10
26
10
17
22 24
19
15 15 17
13
8
26
49
11
12
10
18
17
16
32
39
25
32
32
41
51
43
30
38
41
31
46
37
63
33
60
60
55
57
48
53
31
44 51
40
71 70
73
42
56
36
10
13 12 11
20
15
12
26
13
30
26
29 31
25
21
27
20
30 27
34
25 26 25
16
35
16
42
30
47
32 29
45
14 13 14
49
18
15
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Turkey
Mexico
Portugal
Brazil
Spain
Colombia
Italy
Iceland
Chile
NewZealand
Belgium
Denmark
Norway
OECDaverage
Greece
Netherlands
France
Australia
Luxembourg
UnitedKingdom
Latvia
Ireland
Germany
Hungary
Estonia
Austria
UnitedStates
Switzerland
Israel
Finland
Sweden
Canada
SlovakRepublic
Poland
CzechRepublic
RussianFederation
Slovenia
Korea
Below upper secondary Upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary Tertiary

8.
There is a larger proportion of young men with low
qualifications compared to young women
On average across OECD countries, 18% of younger men
(25-34 year-olds) have not attained an upper secondary
education while the percentage among younger women is
15%.
In Australia, Brazil, Colombia, Denmark, Estonia, Greece,
Iceland, Italy, Latvia and Norway the gender difference
across younger adults is wider than 5 percentage points,
and in Portugal and Spain it is larger than 10 percentage
points.

9.
There is a larger proportion of young men with low
qualifications compared to young women Chart 1.2
Percentage of younger adults (25-34 year-olds) with attainment below upper secondary education, by gender (2013)
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
Portugal
Spain
Brazil
Denmark
Latvia
Estonia
Italy
Iceland
Greece
Colombia
Australia
Norway
Luxembourg
Israel
Netherlands
Belgium
Ireland
Finland
OECDaverage
Canada
UnitedStates
France
Slovenia
Poland
RussianFederation
Sweden
NewZealand
Chile
UnitedKingdom
Hungary
Germany
CzechRepublic
Korea
SlovakRepublic
Mexico
Switzerland
Austria
Turkey
Men Women%

10.
The proportion of younger adults with tertiary education
increased in all countries between 2000 and 2013
On average across OECD countries, the percentage of
younger adults (25-34 year-olds) with tertiary education
increased by 14 percentage points between 2000 and
2013.
The increase was lowest in Finland (1 percentage point)
and highest in Korea, Luxembourg and Poland
(25 percentage points or more).

11.
The proportion of younger adults with tertiary education
increased in all countries between 2000 and 2013 Chart 1.4
Percentage of younger adults (25-34 year-olds) with tertiary education (2000 and 2013)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Korea
Poland
Luxembourg
Latvia
Ireland
UnitedKingdom
SlovakRepublic
Slovenia
CzechRepublic
Switzerland
Portugal
Hungary
Netherlands
Australia
OECDaverage
Turkey
Greece
France
Italy
Estonia
Denmark
Norway
NewZealand
Sweden
Austria
Japan
Iceland
Canada
Mexico
Spain
UnitedStates
Belgium
Germany
Finland
2000 2013%

12.
Chapter 2
HOW DOES EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT AFFECT
PARTICIPATION IN THE LABOUR MARKET?

13.
Employment rates increase with education in all countries
On average across OECD countries the employment rate of
25-64 year-olds without an upper secondary qualification
was 55%, and 83% for those with a tertiary education.
For adults without an upper secondary qualification the
employment rate was lower than 40% in the Slovak
Republic, Hungary and Poland.
For adults with a tertiary qualification the employment rate
was about 90% in Austria, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, the
Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland.

14.
Employment rates increase with education in all
countries Chart 2.1
Employment rates among adults (25-64 year-olds) by educational attainment (2013)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Greece
Spain
Turkey
Korea
Italy
SlovakRepublic
Mexico
Ireland
Hungary
Portugal
UnitedStates
Japan
Canada
RussianFederation
OECDaverage
Estonia
Australia
Colombia
Slovenia
Finland
Belgium
Chile
France
UnitedKingdom
Poland
Luxembourg
CzechRepublic
Brazil
Israel
Latvia
NewZealand
Denmark
Austria
Germany
Netherlands
Switzerland
Sweden
Norway
Iceland
Tertiary education Upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary Below upper secondary%

15.
More tertiary educated young men are employed but more
women have tertiary credentials
On average across OECD countries there is a gender gap in
employment even for tertiary educated young adults: 87% of
tertiary-educated men are employed versus 78% of tertiary educated
women.
Even if employment is higher among tertiary educated men, 25-34
year-old women have consistently higher attainment rates at the
tertiary level compared with men of the same age. Across OECD
countries, 46% of young women have reached tertiary education
while it is the case for 35% of young men.

16.
More tertiary educated young men are employed but
more women have tertiary credentials Chart 2.2
Employment rates among young adults (25-34 year-olds) with tertiary education, by gender (2013)
100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
Greece
Italy
Korea
Turkey
Czech Republic
Slovak Republic
Spain
Estonia
Hungary
Mexico
Japan
Portugal
Finland
OECD average
Australia
United States
New Zealand
Colombia
Poland
Slovenia
Ireland
Chile
Iceland
Canada
United Kingdom
Latvia
Israel
Luxembourg
Denmark
Austria
France
Germany
Sweden
Switzerland
Belgium
Brazil
Norway
Netherlands
Russian Federation
Employment Women Men
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Greece
Italy
Korea
Turkey
Czech Republic
Slovak Republic
Spain
Estonia
Hungary
Mexico
Japan
Portugal
Finland
OECD average
Australia
United States
New Zealand
Colombia
Poland
Slovenia
Ireland
Chile
Iceland
Canada
United Kingdom
Latvia
Israel
Luxembourg
Denmark
Austria
France
Germany
Sweden
Switzerland
Belgium
Brazil
Norway
Netherlands
Russian Federation
Tertiary education attainment

17.
Small gap in unemployment among tertiary educated men
and women
On average across OECD countries the gender gap in
unemployment for tertiary educated young adults is very
small: 7% of tertiary-educated men are unemployed versus
8% of tertiary educated women.
In some countries tertiary-educated women have lower
unemployment rates than men. This is the case in Canada,
Estonia, France, Ireland, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg,
Mexico, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United Kingdom
and the United States.

18.
Small gap in unemployment among tertiary
educated men and women Chart 2.5
Unemployment rates among young adults (25-34 year-olds) with tertiary education, by gender (2013)
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
22
Turkey
Portugal
Greece
Slovenia
Colombia
SlovakRepublic
Poland
Brazil
Austria
Italy
Spain
NewZealand
CzechRepublic
Hungary
OECDaverage
Israel
Chile
Belgium
Latvia
Australia
RussianFederation
Germany
Denmark
Finland
Sweden
Switzerland
Mexico
Japan
UnitedKingdom
UnitedStates
Estonia
Canada
France
Ireland
Netherlands
Korea
Luxembourg
Women Men%
Data for Greece: Women= 36%;
Men= 30%

19.
The gender gap widens among young adults with low
qualification
Across OECD countries, the gender gap is larger for young
adults without an upper secondary education compared
with young adults with a tertiary qualification: 67% of
young men and 43% of young women without upper
secondary education are employed.
The gender gap is over 40 percentage points in Colombia,
Mexico and Turkey.

20.
The gender gap widens among young adults with
low qualifications Chart 2.3
Employment rates among young adults (25-34 year-olds) with attainment below upper secondary education, by gender (2013)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Portugal
Spain
Norway
Switzerland
SlovakRepublic
Ireland
Korea
RussianFederation
Netherlands
Austria
Iceland
Belgium
Denmark
Germany
Latvia
Greece
Finland
OECDaverage
Hungary
CzechRepublic
Canada
Luxembourg
France
Estonia
Australia
UnitedKingdom
Poland
Sweden
Italy
UnitedStates
NewZealand
Brazil
Slovenia
Chile
Israel
Colombia
Mexico
Turkey
%
Women Men

21.
Higher employment rates for vocational qualifications
among upper secondary education
Across OECD countries, among 25-64 year-olds with upper
secondary education as highest level of education the
employment rate of adults with vocational qualifications
was 75% on average, while it was 69% on average for those
with general qualifications.
In Denmark and Germany employment rate for adults with
a vocational upper secondary education is 15 percentage
points or more above the employment rate for adults with
a general upper secondary education.

22.
Higher employment rates for vocational
qualifications among upper secondary education Chart 2.4
Employment rates among adults (25-64 year-olds) with upper secondary education as highest level of education attained,
by type of programme (2013)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Greece
Spain
Turkey
Ireland
Hungary
Slovenia
SlovakRepublic
Luxembourg
Latvia
Italy
France
Finland
Chile
Estonia
OECDaverage
Belgium
CzechRepublic
RussianFederation
Austria
Netherlands
Israel
Canada
Denmark
Germany
Australia
Switzerland
NewZealand
Sweden
Iceland
%
Vocational General

23.
Chapter 3
TRANSITION FROM SCHOOL TO WORK:
WHERE ARE THE 15-29 YEAR-OLDS?

24.
Almost one in five 20-24 year-olds is NEET
Among the 20-24 year-olds, about 55% were not in
education of which 36% were employed, 10% unemployed
and 9% not looking for a job. So, about 19% can be seen as
NEET (people neither employed nor in education or
training).
The NEET population is over 25% in 7 countries: Colombia,
Greece, Hungary, Italy, Mexico, Spain and Turkey.

25.
Almost one in five 20-24 year-olds is NEET Chart 3.1
Distribution of 20-24 year-olds not in education, by work status (2013)
49 47
54
33
46
52
43 45
49
26
45 44
35
30
46
37
33
42
33 35 36 34
21
33
19
29
36 34
28
37 36
32
26
19
22
11
5
7
9
10
5
7
6
4
17
5 6
4 13
5
11
14
7
16 13 10
11
25
8
26
16
8
8
12
4 4
5
5
10 6
15
20
12
27
9 6
12 10 7
17
9 7
19 13
5
8 8 5 5 6 9
7
8
8
7 6 6
8
8 6
6
0
8
4
2
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Colombia
Mexico
Israel
Turkey
UnitedKingdom
Austria
UnitedStates
NewZealand
Norway
Italy
Australia
Canada
Korea
Hungary
Switzerland
Belgium
Ireland
Sweden
SlovakRepublic
France
OECDaverage
Latvia
Spain
Estonia
Greece
Portugal
CzechRepublic
Finland
Poland
Germany
Netherlands
Iceland
Denmark
Slovenia
Luxembourg
Employed Unemployed Inactive
%

26.
30% of the employed 15-29 year-olds not in education are
not working full time
Among the 15-29 year-olds who are not in education and
are working, 68% were working 35 hours or more per
week.
Among young adults who are working and are not in
education, 40% or more are working less than 35 hours per
week in Denmark, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands and
Sweden.

27.
30% of the employed 15-29 year-olds not in
education are not working full time Chart 3.4
Number of hours worked in a week, by 15-29 year-olds not in education (2013)
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Netherlands 37
Sweden 38
Ireland 34
Finland 32
Denmark 29
Iceland 34
United Kingdom 43
Canada 43
Spain 27
Switzerland 44
Austria 45
Italy 28
France 36
OECD average 37
Belgium 38
Portugal 31
Luxembourg 36
Germany 37
Greece 24
Israel 43
Slovenia 30
Czech Republic 40
United States 39
Colombia 42
Estonia 37
Mexico 42
Australia 42
Hungary 34
Slovak Republic 37
Poland 34
Latvia 39
Turkey 32
Distribution of working hours among 15-29 year-olds not in education and employed
35+
10-34
1-9
0
Unknown
Number of hours worked in a
week:
Employed(%)

28.
Find out more about our work at:
www.oecd.org/edu/eag.htm
www.oecd.org/edu/eag-interim-report.htm
- The publication
- The methodologies
- The complete database
Email: Andreas.Schleicher@OECD.org
Twitter: SchleicherEDU
and remember:
Without data, you are just another person with an opinion
Thank you