Youth unemployment rate at 15-year low, says ILO

Youth from all corners of the country met at Helao Nafidi, in the Ohangwena Region, on Monday to commemorate International Youth Day.

In a related development, the number of young people unemployed globally is at a 15-year low but countries in Asia, the Pacific region, and Arab States – and women in particular – “are not seeing the benefits” of this post-COVID economic recovery, the International Labour Organisation said on Monday in its latest ‘Global Employment Trends for Youth’ report. Here’s Mia Seppo, the Assistant Director-General of the Jobs and Social Protection Cluster.

“Demographic trends, notably the African ‘youthquake’, means [that] creating enough decent jobs will be critical for social justice and the global economy,” added the UN labour agency. Another key development in the youth labour market is that it is now “harder than ever” to find a decent and secure job, according to ILO, which estimated that nearly 65 million young people did not have a job last year.

Most young workers still lack social protection (and) remain in temporary jobs that make it hard for them to get ahead as independent adults, and only one in four young workers in low-income countries is likely to have a regular and secure job, compared with three in four in wealthier countries.

The UN labour agency found that finding work is a significant concern for young people, with two-thirds fearing job loss, even though today’s Gen Z is the most educated youth cohort ever.

The UN agency also called on young workers to demand better job opportunities from their governments, pointing out ongoing gender bias in the labor market. It reported that in 2023, youth unemployment rates for young women and men were nearly equal (12.9% for women and 13% for men), though historically, young men faced higher rates. Additionally, the global NEET rate for young women in 2023 was more than double that of young men, at 28.1% compared to 13.1%.