Youth unemployment rises as young people face a harder road to decent work

GENEVA (ILO News) - Global youth unemployment is rising as stagnant economic growth and weak job creation increase barriers to job entry for young people and push more of them outside employment, education or training, according to a new report from the International Labour Organization (ILO).

The Global Employment Trends for Youth 2026: Back to the future report shows that the global youth unemployment rate rose to 12.4 per cent in 2025, equivalent to 67 million unemployed people aged 15 to 24 years. At the same time, the share of young people not in employment, education or training (NEET) increased slightly to 20 per cent, affecting more than 257 million people. Some of the sharpest rises in youth unemployment have been in higher-income economies, frustrating the aspirations of millions of young people at the start of their working lives.

Between 2023 and 2025, youth unemployment rates increased in eight of the world's 11 subregions, as slowing economic growth, weak job creation, geopolitical tensions and rapid technological change push countries toward a new youth jobs crisis.

A generation that cannot find decent work cannot build its future with confidence.
Gilbert F. Houngbo, ILO Director-General

"A generation that cannot find decent work cannot build its future with confidence. 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," said Gilbert F. Houngbo, ILO Director-General.

Youth job prospects worsen in higher-income economies

In Northern America, youth unemployment increased sharply, rising from 8.3 per cent in 2023 to 9.8 per cent in 2025. In Northern, Southern and Western Europe, youth unemployment remained high at 15 per cent in 2025, with 20 of the 29 countries in the subregion reporting weaker job opportunities for young people.

The decline of many middle-skilled jobs is making it harder for young people to find stable careers. Jobs that have traditionally provided entry points for young workers - including clerical and administrative roles, service and sales occupations, manufacturing-related jobs and some technical occupations - are shrinking, according to the report.

Too few decent jobs in developing economies

In developing economies, the challenge remains creating enough decent jobs to absorb growing young populations. Low unemployment rates conceal widespread labour market insecurity, as many young people cannot afford to remain unemployed and instead enter informal or unstable work.

Nearly nine in ten young workers aged 15 to 29 in low- and lower-middle-income countries are employed informally, limiting their access to stable incomes and social protection. The report identifies sub-Saharan Africa as the subregion facing especially strong demographic pressures alongside too few decent jobs, resulting in more young people falling into NEET status.

The Arab States and Northern Africa continue to record the world's highest youth unemployment rates. In 2025, youth unemployment stood at 26.2 per cent in the Arab States and 22.6 per cent in Northern Africa. In both subregions, at least one in three young people were NEET.

Technology is reshaping youth employment

The report finds that technological change, including advances in artificial intelligence (AI), is transforming opportunities for young workers.

It estimates that 6.1 per cent of jobs held by young people aged 15 to 29 are in occupations highly exposed to AI-related changes. Many of these overlap with the middle-skilled occupations that have declined in number for young people since 2023, particularly clerical and administrative roles. At the same time, demand continues to grow in some knowledge-based technical occupations in fields like science, health and engineering, highlighting the importance of ensuring that young people have access to the skills that match evolving labour market needs.

"There is increasing noise around AI," said Sukti Dasgupta, ILO Director of the Employment, Skills and Sustainable Enterprises Department. "While the direct impact on jobs is still unclear, we must not be complacent and underestimate the risks. We need to step up our 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."

Getting back to a future where pathways lead to decent work

The report calls for renewed action to help young people navigate an increasingly uncertain world of work. Key policy measures include:

• adopting a human-centred approach to AI governance, ensuring that innovation creates opportunities rather than deepening inequalities;
• investing in quality education, lifelong learning and apprenticeships;
• strengthening employment services and labour market institutions to support young people's transitions into work, targeting especially young women;
• expanding social protection and ensuring rights at work, particularly for young people in vulnerable situations; and
• creating more decent job opportunities through supportive macroeconomic and sectoral policies.

The report concludes that the challenge is not only to create more jobs for young people, but to ensure that these jobs provide security, dignity and opportunities for successful transitions into adulthood.