3.6 Integration of young people in the labour market
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Youth employment measures
In Denmark, several measures are set up in order to integrate young people into the labour market. Some of the measures are permanent, while others are temporary pilot projects or experimental schemes. Most measures are administered by municipal job centres, unemployment insurance funds (A-kasser), and municipal youth measures (kommunal ungeindsats), and mechanisms are based on early intervention with widespread use of mandatory activation.
Furthermore, for unskilled young unemployed persons, the focus is on improving their formal skills through vocational education, based on the fact that unskilled young people are at greatest risk of unemployment and unstable employment.
Unemployment benefits for young people in Denmark
Young people in Denmark can qualify for unemployment benefits if they are members of an unemployment insurance fund (A-kasse) for at least one year and meet minimum income requirements. As of 2024, full-time insured members must have earned at least 263,232 DKK in the last three years to be eligible, while part-time insured members must have earned 175,488 DKK. Benefits are granted for two years within a three-year period, with extensions possible after additional employment of at least 52 weeks.
Graduates from education programmes lasting at least 18 months can receive benefits without prior work experience if they join an unemployment fund within 14 days of graduation. They are entitled to one year of benefits within a two-year period, provided they meet Danish language requirements or have worked at least 600 hours (full-time insured) or 400 hours (part-time insured) in the last 12 months.
To maintain eligibility, recipients must register with a job centre on their first day of unemployment, actively seek employment, and attend regular meetings at both their A-kasse and local job centre. The first three months of unemployment benefits are administered by the A-kasse, after which responsibility transitions to the job centre until employment is secured.
Benefit rates and reductions
Unemployment benefits in Denmark vary based on previous work hours, income, age, and dependent status. As of 2024, the maximum benefit rate is 20,359 DKK per month for full-time insured individuals and 13,573 DKK per month for part-time insured individuals.
Graduates providing for a child receive 82% of the maximum rate without reductions, while non-providing graduates receive 71.5%, which decreases after three months. If under 30, the rate is reduced to 49.17%, and for those over 30, it decreases to 62.11%.
Young individuals under 25 without education or prior work experience initially receive benefits at their individual rate. After 962 hours (full-time) or 780 hours (part-time) of unemployment, their benefits decrease to 50% of the maximum rate. Those participating in activation programs of four weeks or more also receive 50% of the maximum rate.
For individuals under 25 with education, benefit rates depend on whether they qualify for standard or graduate benefits. If participating in activation programs after the initial unemployment period, providers receive 82% of the maximum rate, while non-providers receive 71.5%, which later decreases to 49.17%.
Employment measures for unskilled and vulnerable youth
For young unemployed individuals without vocational education, job centres and municipal youth measures prioritize guiding them toward vocational training to improve their employability. Eligible individuals receiving unemployment benefits, cash benefits, or education benefits may access various activation measures, including:
- Wage-subsidy jobs, with duration depending on whether the employer is private or public.
- Internship programs to gain practical experience.
- Socially useful tasks (nytteindsats), where recipients undertake community-based work for public employers.
Youth activation and Cash Benefits Reform
The 2013 cash benefits reform introduced individualized activation pathways for young unemployed individuals under 30, aiming to support their transition into education or stable employment. Municipal job centres assess whether individuals are job-ready or require additional support through vocational education or activation measures.
Young people without vocational education receive education benefits (uddannelseshjælp) at the same level as state educational grants (SU) and are grouped based on their readiness for education:
- Education-ready youth must begin education as soon as possible and may participate in socially useful tasks (nytteindsats) until they start.
- Youth requiring upskilling receive skills training, mentoring, and short traineeships to prepare them for education within a year.
- Youth with complex challenges receive targeted interventions, including mentoring, internships, and practical training to support their gradual integration into education or work.
Additionally, job centres test unemployed youth for basic literacy and numeracy skills, offering targeted support to ensure they reach a functional level necessary for employment and education.
Early retirement benefits for youth
In 2013, the early retirement benefit scheme was reformed. People below the age of 40 are entitled to early retirement benefits only when it can be documented that their ability to work cannot be improved by other measures (e.g., job clarification, vocational rehabilitation programmes, activation, rehabilitation, treatment/therapy).
With the reform, municipalities refer people in the 18–39 age group to individual vocational rehabilitation programmes of one to five years.
Youth Employment and Education Requirements for Ages 15–17
Those aged 15–17 years are obliged to be in education, employment, or another activity in accordance with their personal education plan (see section 3.4). The aim is that those aged 15–17 years will complete vocational or upper secondary education or gain a foothold in the labour market. When a young person leaves primary and lower secondary education to begin vocational or general upper secondary education, the municipal youth measure must assess whether the young person in question possesses the necessary educational, personal, and social skills to begin general or vocational upper secondary education. In the case of young people who are assessed as not yet being ready to move on to further education, the municipality must provide training or any other assistance needed in order to help them achieve a positive assessment in this regard.
The municipal youth guidance units (Kommunal Ungeindsats) provide guidance services for young people up to the age of 25, focusing in particular on the transition from compulsory to upper secondary education or to the labour market.
Individual Placement and Support (IPS) measure for youths, 2023-2026
The purpose of the IPS measure is to support young people with psychiatric disorders to obtain complete or partial participation in the labour market, either in the form of paid hours or getting an education.
The goal of the IPS process is a job or an education program which in turn will support their recovery process.
The program builds on previous experiences with the IPS method on adult cash benefit recipients and is supported by IPS ambassadors, who facilitate cooperation between regional psychiatric treatment and the municipalities.
The program is being monitored and evaluated by the Danish Agency for Labour Market and Recruitment (STAR).
Coordination with the National Youth Guarantee (YG) scheme
Denmark’s approach aligns with the Youth Guarantee scheme, offering tailored activation plans for both insured and uninsured young people to ensure prompt access to employment or education, with municipal job centers, educational institutions, and other partners working collaboratively.
Denmark’s approach to youth employment aligns with the Youth Guarantee scheme, ensuring tailored activation plans for both insured and uninsured young people. All unemployed young people without a formal education receiving social assistance (uddannelseshjælp) are offered activation within one month, while insured young people on unemployment benefits receive an activation offer within six months. Uninsured young people receiving cash benefits must be offered activation within one month and then every four months thereafter.
Municipal job centres work closely with education institutions, municipal youth guidance units, unemployment insurance funds, and social partners to ensure an integrated and individualized approach. Young jobseekers are required to attend at least four job centre interviews within the first six months of unemployment, reinforcing early intervention strategies that help them transition into education or employment.
Flexicurity measures focusing on young people
There are no flexible employment schemes specifically for young people.
The employment system in Denmark is centred around the so-called Danish flexicurity model, which combines flexibility for employers and security for citizens. See section 3.1.
Reconciliation of private and working life for young people
Initiatives to support the balance between work and family responsibilities
In Denmark, the regulation of work life occurs through collective negotiations between trade union confederations and central employer federations on issues such as working hours, paid lunch breaks, salary during maternity leave/paternity leave, holidays, and illness.
There is no top-level policy to specifically help young people reconcile their private and work lives. Instead, policies exist to help all employees, the following, for instance.
According to the Act on Equal Treatment (Lov om ligebehandling af mænd og kvinder mht. beskæftigelse m.v., LBK nr 942 af 19/07/2024), parents have the right to ask for altered working hours and work patterns when they return to work after parental leave. However, employers are not obliged to accept their wishes.
The Act on Entitlement to Leave and Benefits in the Event of Childbirth (Lov om ret til orlov og dagpenge ved barsel, LBK nr 114 af 29/01/2025.) makes it possible to arrange the parental leave individually. Also, parents may return to work part-time and prolong the leave, but only through further agreement with the employer.
According to the Act on Part-Time Work (Deltidsloven, Lbk nr 1142 af 14/09/2018), further settlements regarding flexible working conditions are a matter of agreement at the local place of employment. As an example, it is possible to have an agreement with the employer to work part-time, teleworking, or work flexitime, but it is not a right.
The Danish Working Environment Authority, WEA, (Arbejdstilsynet) contributes to the creation of safe and healthy working conditions at Danish workplaces. In the Woking Environment Act, a section regulates work performed by young people under the age of 18. Furthermore, WEA provides guidelines to promote a healthy working environment and well-being at the workplace, including preventing bullying and stress. In Denmark, employers have the responsibility to ensure a healthy, stimulating, and safe working environment.
According to the Act on Employees’ Right to Absence Due to Family Reasons (Lov om lønmodtageres ret til fravær af særlige familiemæssige årsager, LBK nr 915 af 23/06/2024), employees are entitled to absence from work when illness or accidents in the family make the employee’s presence imperative. In practice, employees are allowed absence on their child’s first day of illness. Depending on the collective agreement the employee is part of, some employees are entitled to absence on their child’s second day of illness. Depending on the collective agreement the employee is part of, some employees are entitled to salary during the first and second day of illness.
Funding of existing schemes/initiatives
The unemployment insurance system is a voluntary scheme administered by private unemployment insurance funds but is largely publicly funded. In order to be entitled to unemployment benefits, an unemployed person must be a member of an unemployment insurance fund (A-kasse) and pay a membership fee.
The cash benefits and early retirement schemes are publicly financed.
The scheme of leave and benefits in the event of childbirth is publicly financed (Lov om ret til orlov og dagpenge ved barsel, LBK nr 114 af 29/01/2025). Udbetaling Denmark is the authority responsible for paying maternity/paternity benefits. Unemployed parents on parental leave receive parental leave benefits if they are insured. The benefit is administered by unemployment insurance funds (a-kasser) but is largely financed by the state. Uninsured unemployed parents can be entitled to cash benefits.
Some employees are entitled to a salary during a part of or the whole leave period. The right to salary during a part of or the whole leave period depends on the employee’s collective agreement.
No EU funds are used.
Quality assurance
In Denmark, politicians are increasingly interested in the effects of active labour market policies. The Danish Agency for Labour Market and Recruitment (STAR) is, therefore, working to support the policy process by systematically accumulating evidence about the effects of active labour market policies. This approach is formally described in the Danish Evidence Strategy, which has been implemented across the entire Ministry of Employment.
The evidence strategy follows three tracks:
1. The gathering and systematisation of existing knowledge
2. The production of new knowledge
3. The dissemination of knowledge
In its work to gather knowledge, STAR works together with various partners, such as researchers, consultancy firms, interest organisations, municipalities, unemployment benefit funds, etc.
The continuous development and implementation of policy and legislation can be seen as a constant cycle comprised of four steps. In step one, policy proposals that have been negotiated by political parties are articulated. In step two, the political parties decide the legislation. In step three, the legislation is implemented. In step four, the effects of new initiatives and policies are evaluated. Evidence-based knowledge plays a crucial role in these processes since it serves as an important source of input when designing new policies as well as the actual implementation of the employment policy.