For workers 25 and younger, the situation is even more dire. The official unemployment rate for this group was 22.6% and rising, compared with a jobless rate of 16.1% and falling for Americans in the same age group.
The website 24/7 Wall St. reviewed Eurostat's latest data on 29 nations -- including the EU, Japan and the United States -- and identified the 10 nations with the highest unemployment rates among residents ages 16 through 25.
With a few exceptions, these countries have been hit hard by the global economic downturn. Unsurprisingly, the countries at the center of the eurozone debt crisis, the so-called PIIGS -- Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain -- are among the top 10.
And while much of the world has begun to climb out of the economic crater caused by the financial crisis, five of the top 10 countries on this list are still experiencing economic contraction.
Click through the following slide show, published Aug. 27, for a closer look at the 10 countries where young people are having the hardest time finding jobs. The report is based in part on data from Eurostat, which defines unemployed persons as being aged 16 through 74, without work, able to start within two weeks and having actively sought work in the past four weeks. Economic data, including annual growth rates, come from the World Bank.
Youth unemployment rate in May: 27.7%
Overall unemployment rate: 13.7%
Gross domestic product in 2010: $36.3 billion
GDP growth: 5.8%
Moody's credit rating: Baa1
The country's economy was hit hard during the 2008 financial crisis, which also forced the government deeper into debt.
But the Lithuanian economy began recovering in 2010, with gross domestic product rising a robust 5.8% in 2011, according to the CIA World Factbook. As the economy grew, so did job opportunities for young people. And although the youth unemployment rate is still high, it is heading in the right direction. In January, it was 31.7%.
Youth unemployment rate in May: 28.1%
Overall unemployment rate: 15.3%
Gross domestic product in 2010: $24.0 billion
GDP growth: -0.3%
Moody's credit rating: Baa3
Like Lithuania, Latvia was part of the Soviet Union. Latvia pegs its currency to the euro and hopes to join the eurozone in 2014.
Latvia's youth unemployment rate peaked at 37.2% in 2010. It has been slowly dropping. The eurozone's youth jobless rate, while lower, has been increasing; it rose to 22.6% in May.
Youth unemployment rate in May: 28.5%
Overall unemployment rate: 14.6%
Gross domestic product in 2010: $206.6 billion
GDP growth: -0.4%
Moody's credit rating: Ba1
As many as 100,000 Irish youth have emigrated since the start of the recession, suggesting the official jobless rate understates the problem.
There's little doubt that Ireland's economy is strained. Since July 2009, Moody's Investor Services has downgraded Ireland's credit rating five times, from Aaa to Ba1.
Youth unemployment rate in May: 29.2%
Overall unemployment rate: 12.2%
Gross domestic product in 2010: $47.7 billion
GDP growth: 0.2%
Moody's credit rating: Baa2
Bulgaria's youth employment rate is worsening even as the nation's economy begins to grow, albeit at an anemic pace.
Moody's Investor Services cites corruption and poor expansion in industrial output as potential concerns for the Bulgarian government.
Youth unemployment rate in May: 36.2%
Overall unemployment rate: 10.1%
Gross domestic product in 2010: $2.1 trillion
GDP growth: 1.5%
Moody's credit rating: A3
For about a decade, beginning in 2000, Italy's youth unemployment rate was double that of the general population. By May 2012, Italy's youth unemployment rate was substantially more than triple that of the general population.
The country's largest trade union, the Italian General Confederation of Labour, last month declared the youth unemployment rate a "dramatic national emergency."
Youth unemployment rate in May: 36.4%
Overall unemployment rate: 15.2%
Gross domestic product in 2010: $228.6 billion
GDP growth: 1.4%
Moody's credit rating: Ba3
Portugal's monthly youth unemployment rate has routinely exceeded 35% this year, as the nation has been a focal point of international worry over a crisis in sovereign debt among European Union members.
Moody's has downgraded the nation's credit rating five times in the past three years.
To combat youth unemployment, the Portuguese government promised to reimburse companies for up to 90% of social security contributions made for new workers ages 16 through 30 if they had been unemployed for more than four months.
Youth unemployment rate in May: 38.8%
Overall unemployment rate: 13.6%
Gross domestic product in 2010: $87.3 billion
GDP growth: 4.2%
Moody's credit rating: A2
Slovakia has one of the European Union's highest jobless rates. The employment situation has been improving overall, though youth joblessness continues to rise.
Slovakia's prime minister, 47-year-old Robert Fico, is reportedly considering new public housing and other economic stimulus measures.
Youth unemployment rate in May: 41.6%
Overall unemployment rate: 15.7%
Gross domestic product in 2010: $60.9 billion
GDP growth: -1.2%
Moody's credit rating: Baa3
The World Bank late last year projected that the former Yugoslavia is likely to fall back into recession.
A contracting economy makes it more likely that unemployment concerns will persist for the general population and young Croatians alike.
Youth unemployment rate in March: 52.1%
Overall unemployment rate: 21.9%
Gross domestic product in 2010: $301 billion
GDP growth: -3.5%
Moody's credit rating: C
As Europe's sovereign debt crisis has unfolded, Greece was revealed to be one of the countries with the worst problems. Those problems have severely affected Greece's youth, fewer than half of whom have jobs.
In Greece's June national election, much of the youth vote flocked to Syriza, a leftist and anti-austerity political party promising to address youth unemployment.
No. 1 (tie): Spain
Youth unemployment rate in May: 52.1%
Overall unemployment rate: 24.6%
Gross domestic product in 2010: $1.4 trillion
GDP growth: -0.1%
Moody's credit rating: Baa3
Since 2010, Spain has maintained the highest overall unemployment rate of all countries surveyed.
And recent indicators suggest Spain's economy is weakening; manufacturing activity, for instance, is at a 37-month low.
Despite being well-educated, Spain's younger workers are living with their parents longer than ever -- and for longer than most would prefer.
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