Global Youth Unemployment Rises as Job Opportunities Shrink

The Global Employment Trends for Youth 2026: Back to the Future report shows global youth unemployment reached 12.4 per cent in 2025, leaving about 67 million people aged 15 to 24 without work.

Young people around the world are finding it harder to secure decent work as slow economic growth, weak job creation and rapid technological change reshape the traditional routes into employment, according to a new International Labour Organization report.

The Global Employment Trends for Youth 2026: Back to the Future report shows global youth unemployment reached 12.4 per cent in 2025, leaving about 67 million people aged 15 to 24 without work. More than 257 million young people were also outside employment, education or training, known as NEET, pushing the global rate slightly higher to 20 per cent.

Youth unemployment increased between 2023 and 2025 in eight of the world's 11 subregions, with geopolitical tensions and changing technology adding to concerns that another youth employment crisis could be developing. ILO Director-General Gilbert F. Houngbo warned that keeping young people out of quality jobs comes at a cost not only to individuals but also to productivity and social cohesion.

Wealthier economies see fewer routes into working life

Some of the sharpest deterioration has appeared in higher-income economies, where jobs traditionally used by young people to begin their careers are becoming harder to find.

Youth unemployment in Northern America climbed from 8.3 per cent in 2023 to 9.8 per cent in 2025. Across Northern, Southern and Western Europe, the rate remained at 15 per cent, while 20 of the subregion's 29 countries recorded weaker employment opportunities for younger workers.

Part of the problem is the decline of middle-skilled occupations that once provided accessible entry points into stable careers. Clerical and administrative positions, sales and service roles, manufacturing jobs and some technical occupations have contracted, leaving new workers competing for fewer opportunities while employers increasingly look for different or more specialised skills.

Informal work hides deeper problems in developing economies

Young people in lower-income countries face a different version of the employment crisis, where unemployment figures can appear relatively low because many cannot afford to remain without an income and instead accept informal, insecure or poorly protected work.

Nearly nine in every 10 workers aged 15 to 29 in low- and lower-middle-income countries are informally employed, meaning millions have limited access to stable earnings, workplace protections and social security.

Sub-Saharan Africa faces particularly strong pressure as its young population grows faster than the supply of decent jobs, contributing to increasing numbers of people outside work and education. Youth unemployment reached 26.2 per cent in the Arab States and 22.6 per cent in Northern Africa during 2025, while at least one in three young people in both regions were classified as NEET.

Young women remain an important focus for employment policies because they can face additional barriers when moving from education into paid work.

AI adds another layer of uncertainty for young workers

Artificial intelligence is creating fresh questions about the types of jobs that will remain available to younger workers. The ILO estimates that 6.1 per cent of jobs held by people aged 15 to 29 are in occupations highly exposed to AI-related changes, with clerical and administrative positions among those facing significant disruption.

Technology is not reducing opportunities everywhere. Demand continues to expand in some knowledge-intensive occupations across science, healthcare and engineering, increasing the importance of education and training that keep pace with changing employer needs.

ILO Employment, Skills and Sustainable Enterprises Director Sukti Dasgupta said the eventual effect of AI on employment remains uncertain, making investment in skills, lifelong learning and social protection increasingly important so young people can adjust rather than being pushed aside by technological change.

The report calls for stronger education and apprenticeship systems, better employment services, broader social protection and policies that encourage businesses and industries to create decent jobs. It also recommends a human-centred approach to AI governance so technological advances create opportunities without widening existing inequalities.

For millions of young people, the challenge is no longer simply finding a first job. It is finding work that offers enough security, income and opportunity to build an independent adult life at a time when many familiar pathways into employment are disappearing.