World youth unemployment rate lowest for 15 years: UN

GENEVA, Aug 13 (AFP): Global youth unemployment is at its lowest level for 15 years, the United Nations said Monday, though not all regions have yet recovered from the Covid-19 slump.

The number of 15- to 24-year-olds who are not in employment, education or training (NEET) is concerning, the UN's labour agency said, adding that the post-Covid-19 pandemic recovery has not been universal in all regions.

"Young people in certain regions and many young women are not seeing the benefits of the economic recovery," the International Labour Organization said.

At 64.9 million, the total number of unemployed young people worldwide in 2023 was the lowest since the start of the millennium, the ILO said.

At 13 per cent, the youth unemployment rate last year represents a 15-year low and a fall from the pre-pandemic rate of 13.8 per cent in 2019, it said.

"It is expected to fall further to 12.8 per cent this year and next," it added.

"The picture, however, is not the same across regions. In the Arab States, East Asia and South-East Asia and the Pacific, youth unemployment rates were higher in 2023 than in 2019."

The ILO's Global Employment Trends for Youth 2024 report cautioned over the growing casualisation of work for young people-and the widening gap in the supply of young graduates and the number of suitable jobs for them to take up.