No fewer than 67 million people, aged between 15 and 24, were unemployed globally in 2025, as weak economic growth, shrinking entry-level jobs and rapid technological changes combined to make the transition from school to decent work increasingly difficult, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has said.

The ILO, in its latest report titled: Global Employment Trends for Youth 2026: Back to the Future, revealed that the global youth unemployment rate rose to 12.4 percent, while more than 257 million young people worldwide were neither in employment, education nor training (NEET), representing 20 percent of the global youth population.

The report noted that youth unemployment increased in eight of the world’s 11 subregions between 2023 and 2025 as sluggish economic growth, weak job creation, geopolitical tensions and rapid technological change pushed countries toward a new youth jobs crisis.

ILO Director-General, Gilbert F. Houngbo, warned that the worsening employment outlook could have serious economic and social consequences.

“A generation that cannot find decent work cannot build its future with confidence,” Houngbo said.

“When young people are locked out of quality employment, countries lose talent, productivity and social cohesion. Creating decent jobs for young people is not just a social imperative; it is one of the smartest investments a country can make,” he added.

The report found that some of the sharpest increases in youth unemployment occurred in higher-income economies. In Northern America, youth unemployment rose from 8.3 percent in 2023 to 9.8 percent in 2025, while Northern, Southern and Western Europe recorded a combined rate of 15 percent.

According to the ILO, one of the major factors behind the trend is the decline of middle-skilled jobs that traditionally served as entry points into the labour market for young people.

Clerical and administrative positions, service and sales jobs, manufacturing roles and some technical occupations are shrinking, leaving many young people facing longer queues for fewer opportunities.

For developing economies, however, the challenge extends beyond unemployment to the quality of jobs available.

The report showed that nearly nine out of every 10 young workers in low-and lower-middle-income countries are employed informally, often without stable incomes, social protection or adequate labour rights.

Sub-Saharan Africa, the ILO noted, faces particularly intense demographic pressure as rapidly growing youth populations outpace the creation of decent jobs, increasing the number of young people outside work and education.

The Arab States and Northern Africa continue to record the highest youth unemployment rates globally at 26.2 per cent and 22.6 per cent respectively, with at least one in three young people in both regions classified as NEET.

The report also highlighted the growing impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on youth employment, estimating that 6.1 per cent of jobs currently held by young people are highly exposed to AI-related changes.

ILO Director of the Employment, Skills and Sustainable Enterprises Department, Sukti Dasgupta, said governments must invest in skills and social protection to prepare young people for a changing world of work.

“There is increasing noise around AI. While the direct impact on jobs is still unclear, we must not be complacent and underestimate the risks,” Dasgupta said.

“We need to step up investment in skills, lifelong learning and social protection so that young people can adapt to change and seize new opportunities. Technological progress, including AI, must work for young people, not against them.”

To reverse the trend, the ILO called for greater investment in education, apprenticeships and lifelong learning, stronger labour market institutions, expanded social protection and policies aimed at creating decent and secure jobs for young people.

The organisation stressed that the challenge facing governments is no longer merely creating jobs, but ensuring that young people can access work that provides dignity, security and a successful transition into adulthood. (Nigerian Tribune)