Youth unemployment rate falls to 15-year low

The number of unemployed young people worldwide is at a 15-year low, but countries in Asia, the Pacific and the Arab world, and women in particular, are “not reaping the benefits” of the economic recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Latin America, the region showed a significant decrease in its youth unemployment rate, standing at 4.5 percentage points less, or 13.4%.

“Demographic trends, in particular the ‘youth earthquake’ in Africa, show that Creating enough decent jobs is essential for social justice and the global economy“, assured the International Labour Organization (ILO) by publishing new data on global labor market trends.

“Millions of young people around the world are blocked in their search for decent work,” the ILO stressed, adding that while global youth unemployment fell to 13% in 2023 – below pre-pandemic levels and with projections expecting further declines in 2024 and 2025 – this recovery is being “uneven”.

“In East Asia (+4.3%), the Arab States (+1%) and South-East Asia and the Pacific (+1%), youth unemployment rates have continued to rise,” said Sara Elder, Head of Employment Analysis and Public Policy at the ILO.

Situation in Latin America

In Latin America, the youth unemployment rate fell significantly, standing at 4.5 percentage points less, or 13.4%.

However, in most regions, jobs are part-time, precarious and informal.

The incidence of temporary employment – ​​paid work with a contract duration of less than 12 months – has increased over the past two decades in the combined Latin America and Caribbean subregion. If this is added to self-employment, another form of work that is less secure by its nature and excludes the various benefits of social protection, The report concludes that just over half (51%) of young adult workers in Latin America and the Caribbean were working in insecure employment..

Lack of opportunities

Equally worrying is the finding that Last year, more than one in five young people was not working, studying or receiving training.a situation that the ILO calls “NEETs”.

“If you’re a young woman, the challenge of staying in school or getting a job is twofold: two out of three NEETs are women,” Elder said.

Another key development in the youth labour market is that it is now “harder than ever” to find decent and secure work, according to the ILO, which estimates that nearly 65 million young people were out of work last year.

Inequality by place of birth

“Most young workers still lack social protection and remain in temporary jobs that make it difficult for them to get ahead as independent adults.“Elder continued, adding that only one in four young workers in low-income countries is likely to have regular, secure employment, compared with three in four in richer countries.

The pressure to find work is weighing heavily on young people, according to the UN labour agency, with two out of three saying they fear losing their jobs. This is despite the fact that the current generation Z, which is looking for work, “is also the most educated cohort of young people in history”, insists the ILO.

“Decent work is a ticket to a better future for young people. And a passport to social justice, inclusion and peace. The time to create opportunities for a better future is now,” Elder said.

In a call to young workers around the world to ask their governments for change and greater job opportunities, the UN agency stressed the existing gender bias in the labour market, which continues to favour men to the detriment of women, as the global rate of NEETs among young women was more than double that among young men, at 28.1% and 13.1% respectively.

Millions of people excluded

“Opportunities for young people are highly unequal, and many young women, young people with limited economic means or from minority backgrounds continue to struggle,” said ILO Director-General Gilbert Houngbo. “Without equal opportunities to access education and decent jobs, Millions of young people are missing out on a better future“.

The ILO chief insisted that “none of us can look forward to a stable future when millions of young people around the world do not have decent work and, as a result, feel insecure and unable to build a better life for themselves and their families.”

Tendencies

Here are some of the long-term labour market trends for younger workers highlighted in the ILO’s Global Employment Trends for Youth 2024 report:

• There are not enough highly qualified jobs to meet the demand for educated young people, especially in middle-income countries
• Growth in “modern” services and manufacturing jobs for young people has been limited
• Keeping skills development in step with the evolving demand for green and digital skills will be key to reducing educational gaps