Global youth unemployment is rising as weak economic growth, limited job creation and rapid technological change make it harder for young people to enter the labour market, according to a new report by the International Labour Organization (ILO). The ILO’s Global Employment Trends for Youth 2026: Back to the Future report found that the global youth unemployment rate rose to 12.4 per cent in 2025, leaving about 67 million people aged 15 to 24 unemployed.
The report also found that the share of young people not in employment, education or training (NEET) increased to 20 per cent, affecting more than 257 million young people worldwide. Between 2023 and 2025, youth unemployment increased in eight of the world’s 11 subregions, as slower economic growth, weak job creation, geopolitical tensions and rapid technological change created growing barriers to employment.
Speaking on the findings, ILO Director-General Gilbert F. Houngbo said young people who cannot secure decent work face difficulties building a confident future, while countries risk losing talent, productivity and social cohesion.
“A generation that cannot find decent work cannot build its future with confidence,” Houngbo said.
He added that creating decent jobs for young people was not only a social responsibility but also one of the smartest investments countries could make.
The ILO report showed that some of the sharpest increases in youth unemployment occurred in higher-income economies, frustrating the aspirations of millions of young people at the beginning of their working lives.
In Northern America, youth unemployment rose 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 employment opportunities for young people.
The report said the decline of many middle-skilled jobs is making it harder for young people to find stable careers.
According to the ILO, 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 positions, are shrinking.
In developing economies, the major challenge remains creating enough decent jobs to absorb growing young populations.
The ILO said low unemployment rates in some developing economies can hide widespread labour market insecurity because many young people cannot afford to remain unemployed and instead enter informal or unstable work.
Nearly nine in 10 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 identified sub-Saharan Africa as a subregion facing particularly strong demographic pressures alongside a shortage of decent jobs, resulting in more young people falling into NEET status.
The Arab States and Northern Africa continue to record the highest youth unemployment rates globally.
In 2025, youth unemployment stood at 26.2 per cent in the Arab States and 22.6 per cent in Northern Africa. The ILO said at least one in three young people in both subregions were not in employment, education or training.
The report also examined how technological change, including artificial intelligence (AI), is transforming employment opportunities for young workers.
It estimated 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 jobs overlap with middle-skilled occupations that have declined among young workers since 2023, particularly clerical and administrative roles.
However, the ILO noted that demand continues to grow in some knowledge-based technical occupations, particularly in science, health and engineering.
The report said this highlights the importance of ensuring that young people have access to skills that match changing labour market needs.
Speaking on the impact of AI, Sukti Dasgupta, Director of the ILO’s Employment, Skills and Sustainable Enterprises Department, said the direct effect of AI on jobs remains unclear but warned against underestimating 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,” Dasgupta said.
She added that technological progress, including AI, should work for young people rather than against them.
The ILO called for renewed action to help young people navigate an increasingly uncertain world of work.
The organisation recommended a human-centred approach to AI governance to ensure that technological innovation creates opportunities rather than deepening inequality.
It also called for greater investment in quality education, lifelong learning and apprenticeships, as well as stronger employment services and labour market institutions to support young people’s transition into work, particularly young women.
Other measures recommended by the ILO include expanding social protection, protecting workplace rights, particularly for young people in vulnerable situations, and creating more decent jobs through supportive economic and sectoral policies.
The report concluded that the challenge is not simply to create more jobs for young people, but to ensure that those jobs provide security, dignity and opportunities for successful transitions into adulthood.
