This number from 2023 marks the lowest rate in 15 years and a decrease from the pre-pandemic times in all but three subregions.
20% of young people were NEET in 2023
2 in 3 young NEETs (not in employment, education or training) globally are women.
Is recovery from the COVID-19 crisis now fully secured?
More than four years from the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the labour market outlook has improved considerably for young people aged 15 to 24. But recovery was not universal. Rates exceeded their 2019 levels in three regions: Arab States, East Asia and South-East Asia and the Pacific.
Decent work for youth: Any progress?
Young people in most regions are unable to find secure work, and their chances of doing so decrease as the income level of the country decreases. In low-income countries, a young adult (25-29) is still at least 3 times more likely to find only insecure jobs compared to those in high-income countries. Access to decent work has not improved over time.
The value of education and training
Globally, young people today have more opportunities to stay in school. There have been significant gains in youth attending school/training in all but low-income countries.
But with structural transformation of economies happening at a slow pace, returns to education have decreased slightly since the start of the millennium. The shares of young workers in occupations that do not match to their higher-level degrees (an educational mismatch of “overeducation”) has increased over time.
Global challenges
Lack of jobs
1 in 3 economically active youth in Arab States and North Africa are unemployed.
Lack of decent work
3 in 4 youth in sub-Saharan Africa lack secure work.
Educational mismatch
2 in 3 young adult workers in developing economies hold qualifications that do not match well to their job.
Rising youth anxiety levels
2 in 3 young people worried about losing their job.
Demographic pressures
Youth labour force in Africa grows by 76 million by 2050, while all other regions face a contraction in young workers.
Inequalities of opportunities
In high-income countries, 4 in 5 young adult workers (aged 25–29) are in a regular paid job. This number falls to 1 in 5 in low-income countries.
