How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected education systems and labour markets in the Danube Region? This is one of the questions that the newly released update of the Danube Region Monitor – People & Skills investigates. The report analyses key statistical indicators, such as unemployment and educational attainment rates, to explore national and regional developments.
The report found that the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in lower employment rates of young people in the Danube Region, and may have exacerbated learning losses, early school leaving and inequalities. The pandemic, however, also led to significant public resources being spent on education and labour market policies and was a boost for digital skills in the Danube Region. The need for strengthening basic competences and addressing gender, migration and socio-economic disparities calls for further investments in education systems and in active labour market policy.
A dedicated chapter of the report also gives first insights into the impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, including severe damages to educational institutions a severe crisis of the Ukrainian labour market, and the need for the integration of Ukrainian refugees in education systems and labour markets in receiving countries.
To visualise the data behind the report, an online database was launched. It allows for tailored data search and visualisations in maps and graphs.
The report and online database were prepared by the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (wiiw). It was developed in the framework of the Priority Area “People & Skills” of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region, with co-funding from the European Union and support from the Austrian Federal Ministry of Labour and Economy and the Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research. Both tools aim at providing easily accessible and comparable information to support evidence-based decision-making in the Danube Region.
More information is available on: https://peopleandskills.danube-region.eu/danube-region-monitor/
