No less than 67 million people, aged between 15 and 24, were unemployed worldwide in 2025, as weak economic growth, shrinking entry-level jobs and rapid technological change combined to make the transition from school to decent work increasingly difficult, according to the International Labor Organization (ILO).
The ILO, in its latest report titled: Global Youth Employment Trends 2026: Back to the Future, revealed that the global youth unemployment rate increased to 12.4 per cent, while more than 257 million youth around the world were not in employment, education or training (NEET), representing 20 per cent 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 slow economic growth, weak job creation, geopolitical tensions and rapid technological change pushed countries towards a new youth employment crisis.
ILO Director-General Gilbert F. Houngbo warned that worsening employment prospects could have serious economic and social consequences.
“A generation that cannot find a decent job cannot build its future with confidence,” Houngbo said.
“When young people are left without quality jobs, countries lose talent, productivity and social cohesion. Creating decent jobs for young people is not only a social imperative; it is one of the smartest investments a country can make,” he added.
The report found that some of the steepest increases in youth unemployment occurred in higher-income economies. In North 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 main factors behind this trend is the decline in medium-skilled jobs that traditionally served as entry points into the labor market for young people.
Administrative and clerical positions, service and sales jobs, manufacturing roles and some technical occupations are shrinking, leaving many young people facing longer lines for fewer opportunities.
However, for developing economies the challenge goes beyond unemployment to the quality of available jobs.
The report showed that almost nine in 10 young workers in low- and lower-middle-income countries are employed informally, often without stable income, social protection or adequate labor 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 out of work and education.
The Arab States and North Africa continue to have the highest youth unemployment rates globally, at 26.2 percent and 22.6 percent respectively, and at least one in three young people in both regions is classified as NEET.
The report also highlighted the growing impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on youth employment, estimating that 6.1 percent of jobs currently held by young people are highly exposed to AI-related changes.
Director of the ILO Department of Employment, Skills and Sustainable Enterprises, Sukti Dasgupta, said governments must invest in skills and social protection to prepare young people for a changing world of work.
“There is growing noise around AI. While the direct impact on employment is still unclear, we should not be complacent and underestimate the risks,” Dasgupta said.
“We need to increase investment in skills, lifelong learning and social protection so that young people can adapt to change and take advantage of 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 labor market institutions, expanded social protection and policies aimed at creating decent and secure jobs for young people.
The organization highlighted that the challenge facing governments is no longer simply creating jobs, but ensuring that young people can access work that provides them with dignity, security and a successful transition to adulthood.
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