20.500.12556/DKUM-95391 School-to-work transition and labour market This chapter analyses youth labour market dynamics in Croatia and Slovenia before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Results show clear signs of post-pandemic recovery, including declining unemployment and an increase in permanent contracts. However, instability persists, with high rates of temporary, part-time, and student work that delay stable career transitions and expose young people to precarity. A rise in non-standard employment further reflects structural changes in youth labour participation. Although perceived employability has improved since 2018, the NEET rate remains a concern, particularly in Croatia. The authors observe that cross-country differences emerged, with Slovenia achieving better alignment between education and employment, while Croatia showed little progress compared to pre-pandemic trends. At the same time, work values remained stable, with good pay prioritised, while the public–private sector job satisfaction gap narrowed. Still, despite policy initiatives, many young people continue to face insecurity and difficulties transitioning into sustainable employment, with long-term socioeconomic consequences. educational trajectories labour market precarity job satisfaction work values izobraževalne poti trg dela prekarnost zadovoljstvo z delom delovne vrednote true false true Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik Slovenija; Hrvaška; Znanstveno delo 2025-09-16 12:37:18 2025-09-16 12:37:19 2025-09-17 03:18:05 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2025 0 0 Str. 103-131 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova Objavljeno NiDoloceno 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 2025-09-03 316.346.32-053.6 247088643 249124355 10.18690/um.ff.7.2025.5 RAZ_Maslic_Sersic_Darja_2025.pdf RAZ_Maslic_Sersic_Darja_2025.pdf 1 7C8A3B2545067F716904B2A75EF68FFE 304d60716aef44921d227c914892c7c504668d8690b8ecccb663b3d40611f87b 4d24515c-92e9-11f0-8742-00155d000105 https://dk.um.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=198562 https://doi.org/10.18690/um.ff.7.2025.5 1 201e6e07-92e9-11f0-8742-00155d000105 https://dk.um.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=198561 Filozofska fakulteta Univerzitetna založba Univerze v Mariboru 0 0 0