Global youth unemployment in decline and seen falling further, report finds

ZURICH (Reuters) – Youth unemployment worldwide last year dipped to a 15-year-low and is likely to continue falling through 2025, although weaker growth means Asia has lagged this trend, the International Labour Organization said in a report published on Monday.

The ILO said 64.9 million people aged between 15 and 24 worldwide were unemployed last year, good for a rate of 13%, and it forecast that proportion would decrease further over the following two years to sit at 12.8% in 2024 and 2025.

The improvement in the market was driven by robust economic growth rates following the COVID-19 pandemic which has spurred demand for youth labour, the ILO said.

Youth unemployment rates in 2023 returned to their pre-pandemic rates or lower in most, but not all subregions.

For young people in the Arab States, East Asia, and South-East Asia and the Pacific, youth unemployment rates were higher last year than in 2019, the ILO said.

For the Arab States, this was a continuation of the pre-COVID-19 trend. But for the Asian subregions, it marked a change of direction from the stronger growth of the pre-COVID years.

The ILO also noted that the far lower average age of the population in Africa than in more developed nations has raised questions about economic sustainability there.

The imminent “youthquake” in Africa means job creation is becoming a critical issue for social justice and the future of the global economy, the organization said.