Spain has among the EU's highest number of young people out of work and education, but why?

Jan's last job, in 2022, was to buy and sell products. After that he had no luck in finding more work, so he decided to go back to school and finish his studies. 

The 21-year-old Spaniard is trying to shake off the label of "nini", as people who neither study nor work are known in the country, but the outlook is not very flattering.

He has not received a single job offer since finishing his high school studies before the summer, despite actively looking for one.

For years, Spain has suffered from a persistent scourge: it remains one of the European countries with the highest proportion of young people aged between 18 and 24 who are neither studying nor working.

At 17%, it is above the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) average of 15%, according to the latest Education at a Glance 2023 report.

Among EU countries, the Czech Republic, Italy and Romania have higher percentages (31%, 24% and 22% respectively), while Greece has a similar percentage to Spain.

At the other end of the scale are Sweden, Norway and Germany, where the percentage of inactive people is below 10%.

"It is difficult to find a job in Spain because most job offers require experience, and you cannot gain experience if you are never given the opportunity. Also, salaries are quite low compared to the rising prices of everything," Jan told Euronews.

For Nacho Sequeira, director general of the Exit Foundation, which works to reduce the dropout rate among vulnerable young people, the problem lies in "an explosive combination".

"Too many young people are dropping out of school. Spain has the second highest number of early school leavers in the European Union, after Romania. In addition, the country has too many unemployed young people, it is