Resilient economic growth after the Covid-19 pandemic coupled with a strong rebound in labour demand has improved the global labour market outlook for young people belonging to the 15-24 age group, according to a report released by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) on Monday.
The 2023 youth unemployment rate at 13 per cent, equivalent to 64.9 million people, represents a 15-year low and a fall from the pre-pandemic rate of 13.8 per cent in 2019. It is expected to fall further to 12.8 per cent this year and the next year.
“Resilient economic growth rates and a strong rebound in labour demand benefited young labour market entrants in the post-crisis setting. The total number of unemployed young people [in 2023] worldwide was the lowest seen since the start of the millennium,” said the report titled ‘Global Employment Trends for Youth 2024’.
The picture, however, is not the same across regions and genders.
In the Arab countries, East Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific, youth unemployment rates were higher in 2023 than in 2019. Similarly, the drop in the youth unemployment rate has been smaller among women, with the youth unemployment rates of both young women and young men in 2023 being nearly equal (at 12.9 per cent for young women and 13 per cent for young men), unlike pre-pandemic years when the rate for young men was higher.
The report also cautions that the number of young people who are not in employment, education or training (NEET) is ‘concerning’, as it stood at 20.4 per cent with two in three young NEETs globally being women.
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“The report reminds us that opportunities for young people are highly unequal; with many young women, young people with limited financial means or from any minority background still struggling. Without equal opportunities for education and decent jobs, millions of young people are missing out on their chances for a better future,” ILO Director-General Gilbert F Houngbo said in a statement.
For the youth who do work, the report notes the lack of progress in gaining decent jobs, asserting that more than half of young workers are in informal employment globally. It states that only in high- and upper-middle-income economies are the majority of young workers today in a regular and secure job, while three in four young workers in low-income countries will get only a self-employed or temporary paid job.
The report cautions that 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,” Houngbo said.
Looking at longer-term trends, the report notes that growth in “modern” services and in manufacturing jobs for youth has been limited. Also, the supply of high-skill jobs to match the supply of educated youth, especially in middle-income countries, has not been enough.
First Published: Aug 12 2024 | 3:35 AM IS