Ensuring employment of young people in the EU and the use of this political and legal experience in Ukrainian realities is a rather urgent issue. The article systematizes and investigates the current state and causes of youth unemployment in EU countries. It was determined that the unemployment rate among young people steadily increased during the period 2008-2013, which affected the EU economy, however, until 2019, a consistent decline was observed. The main factors influencing this indicator are the following: lack of vacancies for inexperienced youth, natural employee turnover, economic downturn, etc.

The normative and legal support of youth employment policy was considered, in particular employment policy aimed at post-pandemic recovery. The main regulatory acts of youth employment policy in the EU are defined as European Pact for Youth, Resolution "Youth Employment Crisis: A Call to Action", "Framework Action Program on Youth Employment" and others.

European programs and initiatives aimed at reducing youth unemployment, as well as improving education and labour mobility are analysed. The main European programs and initiatives are defined as NextGenerationEU, the Strategy "Youth - investing and providing opportunities", the "Youth opportunities" initiative, "Involvement of youth in employment" and others. They include creating more opportunities for young people in education and employment, improving access and full participation in society, developing skills relevant to the labour market, supporting first work experience and workplace learning, etc. It is emphasized the need to stimulate the economic growth of the EU member states, focusing on the youth segment, implementing employment support programs adapted to the current situation in the world.