The line graph compares how unemployment rate among young people aged 15-24 changed over a 12-year period (2000-2012) in five European countries.
Overall, the rate of unemployment grew noticeably in all European countries with the exception of Germany. Of a particular note are Italy and Germany, where unemployment rates were highest and lowest respectively for the better part of the period.
In detail, youth unemployment underwent a drastic rise in Britain and Sweden. In 2000, the rate of unemployment stood at 10% in Britain, which had doubled by 2008. This figure grew to about 27% in 2009, but it had fallen to a quarter three years later. Similarly, Sweden also saw its youth unemployment rate climb. While initially the rate stood at just over a tenth, it had gone up twofold by the end of the period.
The figures for the other countries also changed, albeit to a varying degree. The proportion of unemployed youth was just under 30% in Italy in 2000, which dropped to a fifth in 2008. This was followed by an exponential rise, hitting an all-time high of nearly 36% in 2012. The unemployment rate among young people also went up in France, going from 20% in 2000 to 25% in 2012. Finally, despite some fluctuations, the rate of youth unemployment remained unchanged in Germany, at about 10%.