Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic brought severe disruptions upon the labor market. Young people, aged 15 to 24 were especially affected. Also, in 2024, Romania had the highest NEET rate. In this context, it is essential to explore data concerning discouragement to work. This paper studied whether or not the time series concerning the number of young people aged between 15 to 24 in Romania discouraged to work present seasonality. Quarterly data from 2019 to 2023 was considered in order to capture the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Data for males and females were analyzed. Seasonality tests (Ljung-Box - Auto-correlations at seasonal lags; Friedman - non-parametric; Kruskal-Wallis - non-parametric) and periodograms in JDemetra+ 3.3.0 were used. The results show that neither series present seasonality, suggesting a severe issue, not alleviated by the availability of seasonal jobs. Thus, governmental policies should be designed accordingly. Such policies may include, as presented in the conlusion section based on existing literature: increasing the opportunities of young pople to learn new skills, supporting youth centers, where young people can increase their social capital and promoting active measures to increase participation on the labor market. The paper is limited by the data availability: quarterly data at national level doesn't permit a very detailed analysis.
Cuvinte cheie
youth discouraged to work
periodogram
seasonality tests
JDemetra+
Istoric articol
Publicat
01.02.2026
Informații autori
Citare recomandată
Andreea Mirică (2026). Young People Discouraged to Work in Romania Between 2019 and 2023 – Seasonal Analysis Using JDemetra+ 3.3.0. Journal of Economic Sciences, 1(1), 138–143. https://doi.org/10.65631/jes.1.2026.13
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