ILO report concerns about youth unemployment, lack of education

GENEVA, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) — The International Labour Organization (ILO) highlighted the concerns about the global number of 15 to 24-year-olds not in employment, education, or training (NEET), even as youth unemployment rates decline, according to an ILO report issued on Monday.
The report, titled Global Employment Trends for Youth 2024, said that the global labor market outlook for young people has improved over the last four years, with the youth unemployment rate in 2023 dropping to 13 percent, representing 64.9 million individuals.
This figure marks a 15-year low, down from the pre-pandemic rate of 13.8 percent in 2019.
The report also anticipates a further decline to 12.8 percent in 2024 and the same rate in the next year.
However, the report highlighted that the post-COVID-19 pandemic employment recovery has not been universal, as a significant number of young people in certain regions were NEET.
According to the report, many young people had limited access to decent job opportunities, particularly in emerging and developing economies. In 2023, 20.4 percent of the global youth population, or one in five, fell into the NEET category. Alarmingly, two-thirds of these NEET individuals were female.
The continuing high NEET rates and insufficient growth of decent jobs are causing growing anxiety among today’s youth, who are also the most educated youth cohort ever.
“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, are feeling insecure and unable to build a better life for themselves and their families,” said ILO Director-General Gilbert F. Houngbo. ■