Young people from smaller municipalities often move to larger cities or abroad after completing their education in search of better employment opportunities, more accessible housing, and a higher quality of life (Corcoran, Faggian, & Mccan, 2010). Limited career prospects, a lack of jobs matching their level of education, and housing constraints significantly influence their decision to migrate, leading to long-term demographic and developmental consequences for less developed and rural municipalities (Bogovič, 2021).
Municipalities attempt to address this trend through various development policies and measures in the areas of employment, housing, education, and youth participation in decision-making. Nevertheless, the question remains which factors are truly the most important for young people when deciding whether to leave or return to their home municipality (Mladina, 2021).
The empirical part of this thesis presents an analysis of youth outmigration from the Municipality of Črnomelj. The aim of the research was to determine which factors influence young people’s migration intentions, what the main reasons for leaving the municipality are, to what extent young people are familiar with municipal measures, and which measures they consider most important.
Based on a survey questionnaire, the findings show that employment opportunities and quality of life are the most important factors for young people. Furthermore, awareness of municipal measures is relatively low, indicating that strengthening employment opportunities and improving the information provided to young people are crucial steps in addressing youth outmigration.
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