Luxembourg - Young people in Slovenia have felt the biggest impact of the first epidemic wave on their employment compared to their peers in the EU. The youth employment rate dropped the most in Slovenia among member states in the second quarter of 2020, Eurostat has reported.

The EU's employment rate declined in most member states due to an economic shutdown in the April-June period, and the quarter-on-quarter decrease then was the highest in the past two decades, Eurostat said recently.

The rate fell by 1 percentage point in the EU in the second quarter this year despite numerous measures designed to cushion the impact of the pandemic.

Slovenia recorded a drop somewhat lower than 2 percentage points compared to the last quarter of 2019, with the employment rate standing at some 74%.

Mass redundancies were mostly staved off in the EU, however people entering the labour market or in precarious forms of employment might have been directly impacted by the spring lockdown. Same goes for those working in sectors that were hit worst, such as hospitality.

Young people aged between 15 and 24 were hence most affected, with the youth employment rate declining in all EU countries except for Germany.

In Slovenia, the rate fell the most in the EU compared to the last quarter of 2019, by 8.1 percentage points, to some 24%.