Global youth unemployment is climbing again as sluggish job creation, weaker economic growth and rapid advances in artificial intelligence (AI) make it harder for young people to secure a foothold in the labour market.
Reuters reported that an International Labour Organisation (ILO) report showed the unemployment rate among those aged 15 to 24 rose to 12.4% in 2025, representing about 67 million young people worldwide.
The increase reverses some of the improvements recorded after the pandemic and reflects growing pressure on both the availability and quality of jobs for younger workers.
The challenge extends well beyond headline unemployment. More than 257 million young people — around one in five globally — are not in employment, education or training, with youth unemployment rising between 2023 and 2025 across eight of the world’s 11 subregions.
Particularly concerning is the erosion of middle-skilled positions such as clerical and sales roles, which have traditionally served as entry points into the workforce. At the same time, employment growth is increasingly concentrated in higher-skilled areas including technology and healthcare.
AI could intensify the squeeze as the ILO estimates that 6.1% of jobs held by young workers are highly exposed to AI-related disruption. If just 10% of those positions were displaced, as many as 5.6 million youth jobs could be affected, with the risk particularly pronounced in wealthier economies.
In lower-income economies, the problem takes a different form. Many young workers continue to rely on informal and insecure employment because better-quality opportunities remain limited, leaving them more vulnerable to low wages and weak social protection.
For businesses and policymakers, the figures underline a growing challenge: ensuring technological change creates pathways into work rather than removing the first rung of the career ladder.
As AI reshapes occupations and hiring needs, investment in skills development and stronger routes into quality employment will become increasingly critical to preventing a generation of young workers from being left behind.
