Youth unemployment, which is the fundamental human capital of every society and economy, is one of the burning problems of today. At EU level, the European Union has high youth unemployment rates, in some countries over 50%. he Republic of Croatia has been facing high youth unemployment for years. Unemployed young people make up a third of the total number of unemployed in the Republic of Croatia, which is much higher than the average unemployment rate in the EU, where it is around 20%. This situation can, both in the EU and in the Republic of Croatia, lead to long-term economic, political, psychological and social consequences that affect individuals and society as a whole. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to analyze youth unemployment in the Republic of Croatia and European Union countries. The paper will answer the questions why youth unemployment occurs in the EU and the Republic of Croatia, what are the characteristics of some member states in terms of youth unemployment, why is the NEET population growing and give an overview of EU measures and programs adopted to alleviate youth unemployment and mitigation measures poverty at the level of the Republic of Croatia. The problem of youth unemployment cannot be solved in the short term, so it is necessary to adequately and timely create and implement measures to alleviate youth unemployment both at the EU level and at the national level of EU member states.