Global youth unemployment increased in 2025, reversing some of the modest gains recorded in labour markets after the Covid-19 pandemic, as slower economic growth, weak job creation, geopolitical tensions and rapid technological changes made it increasingly difficult for young people to enter the workforce. According to the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) latest assessment, the unemployment rate among people aged 15 to 24 rose to 12.4 per cent last year, compared with 12.3 per cent in 2024. The figure represents around 67 million young people worldwide who were unable to find work.
The deterioration has emerged across a broad range of economies, with some of the sharpest increases recorded in high-income countries. The ILO said the temporary improvement in employment opportunities for young people following the pandemic appears to have stalled, raising concerns about the ability of economies to absorb a new generation of workers entering the labour market.
Another indicator highlighted by the UN labour agency is the number of young people who are neither employed nor pursuing education or training. The proportion of young people in this category, commonly referred to as NEET, increased to 20 per cent, meaning more than 257 million young people globally were outside employment, education or training. The simultaneous increase in youth unemployment and the NEET population has prompted the ILO to describe the situation as a warning sign for policymakers.
The agency said youth unemployment increased between 2023 and 2025 in eight of the world’s 11 subregions. Some of the most significant increases were recorded in North America, North Africa and northern, southern and western Europe. North America’s youth unemployment rate reached 9.8 per cent in 2025, up from 8.3 per cent in 2023, while the rate across northern, southern and western Europe stood at around 15 per cent.
The Arab States and North Africa continued to face the most severe youth employment challenges. Youth unemployment stood at 26.2 per cent in the Arab States and 22.6 per cent in North Africa, making these the regions with the highest rates globally. The ILO said the situation reflects persistent difficulties in creating sufficient numbers of decent and stable jobs for young workers.
One of the major structural concerns identified in the report is the shrinking availability of middle-skilled jobs. Clerical and administrative positions, sales-related work and manufacturing occupations have traditionally provided important entry points for young people leaving school or university. The decline of such opportunities is creating longer queues for jobs and making the transition into stable employment more difficult, particularly for young people with secondary-level qualifications.
The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence is adding another layer of uncertainty. The ILO estimates that about 6.1 per cent of jobs currently held by people aged 15 to 29 are in occupations that are highly exposed to AI-related changes. If only 10 per cent of these potentially exposed jobs were to disappear entirely, around 5.6 million young workers could be affected through unemployment, career changes or withdrawal from the labour market. The impact is expected to be particularly significant in wealthier economies where technology-driven changes are advancing rapidly.
At the same time, the ILO stressed that artificial intelligence is not necessarily expected to eliminate jobs on a large scale. High-skilled sectors such as information technology, healthcare, science and engineering continue to generate employment opportunities in many countries. However, the agency said the pace and scale of technological change remain uncertain and called for greater attention to preparing young workers with skills suited to emerging occupations.
The employment challenge is particularly different in developing economies, where many young people cannot afford to remain unemployed for long periods. Instead, they often enter informal and insecure employment, frequently without adequate social protection, job security or labour rights. Nearly nine out of 10 young workers in low- and lower-middle-income countries are estimated to be working informally, highlighting the gap between simply having a job and securing decent employment.
Despite the recent deterioration, the ILO expects the global youth unemployment rate to remain broadly stable at around 12.3 per cent in both 2026 and 2027. However, the agency cautioned that a stable headline rate should not obscure deeper problems involving job quality, inactivity and the changing nature of work.
ILO Director-General Gilbert Houngbo warned that young people unable to obtain decent employment face difficulties in building secure futures, while economies risk losing talent, productivity and social cohesion. The agency has therefore called for stronger efforts to create quality jobs, improve education-to-work transitions and equip young people with skills that can help them adapt to technological change.
The latest findings suggest that the global youth employment challenge is no longer confined to developing countries. With unemployment rising even in several high-income economies and artificial intelligence reshaping traditional entry-level occupations, governments and employers face growing pressure to ensure that technological progress and economic transformation do not leave a generation of young workers behind.
