Just 37% of young Poles say they are optimistic about their future. Only Spain, with a figure of 35%, had a lower result among European Union countries.
The findings come from a report published by Eurofound, an EU research agency, which concluded that the COVID-19 crisis has hit young people particularly hard in terms of job losses as well as life satisfaction and mental wellbeing
Among the questions asked was whether respondents, aged 18 to 29, agreed with the statement “I am optimistic about my future”. The average across the whole EU during the last round of the survey, in spring 2021, was just under 50%. The highest figures, of around 70%, were recorded in Malta, Latvia and Slovenia.
Source: Eurofound, Impact of COVID-19 on young people in the EU, Publications Office of the European Union
In the first round of the survey, carried out around the beginning of the pandemic in spring 2020, 51% of young Poles said they were optimistic about the future. But this fell to 35% by the summer of 2020, ahead of only Croatia, Cyprus and Hungary, reports the Polish Press Agency (PAP).
Optimism about the future was higher among young people than among the over-30s throughout the pandemic, but dropped in spring 2021, probably as a result of lockdowns, the authors of the report note.
In the two 2020 rounds, young men were on average more often optimistic about their own future, although this difference had almost disappeared by spring 2021.
Source: Eurofound, Impact of COVID-19 on young people in the EU, Publications Office of the European Union
Whereas young Spaniards’ pessimism may be linked to having the EU’s highest youth unemployment ratio, this was a less important factor in Poland. As the report notes, the country has the second lowest ratio in the bloc, at under 4% in 2020, behind only Czechia.
Poland did, however, have a relatively high proportion of young people – 9% – who transitioned from employment into unemployment during the pandemic. Only four other member states had higher figures.
Source: Eurofound, Impact of COVID-19 on young people in the EU, Publications Office of the European Union
The report also states that some surveys among higher education students have shown a higher risk of mental health issues, including depression and increased consumption of stimulants.
As it points out, however, measures introduced to counteract the negative effects of the pandemic in Poland included new regulations that provided additional social and financial support to students while simplifying the process for delivering aid.
Main image credit: Mariusz Cieszewski/MFA (under CC BY-ND 2.0)
Ben Koschalka is a translator and senior editor at Notes from Poland. Originally from Britain, he has lived in Kraków since 2005.
