According to a report released by the International Labour Organization, the global youth unemployment rate for people aged 15 to 24 rose to 12.4% in 2025, up from 12.3% in 2023, with the number of unemployed young people reaching 67 million. Slowing economic growth, geopolitical tensions, and sluggish job creation are behind the trend, marking a reversal from the post-COVID-19 pandemic recovery. The share of young people not in employment, education, or training, known as NEET, also edged up to 20%, equivalent to over 257 million individuals. The ILO pointed to a decline in medium-skilled occupations such as clerical, administrative, sales, and manufacturing jobs, and warned that artificial intelligence could intensify this trend. The ILO estimates that 6.1% of jobs currently held by 15- to 29-year-olds are most susceptible to AI-related changes, and if 10% of these jobs were to disappear entirely, around 5.6 million young workers, mainly in high-income countries, could face unemployment, career changes, or withdrawal from the labour market.
