The Global Employment Trends for Youth 2024 report, also known by “GET for Youth”, is the 20th anniversary publication of the International Labour Organization’s Global Employment Trends for Youth. The report looks back on achievements since the beginning of the twenty-first century while also looking ahead at youth employment in an era characterized by crises and uncertainties.
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The global labour market outlook for young people has improved in the last four years, and the upward trend is expected to continue for two more, according to a new International Labour Organization (ILO) report.
However, the report, titled Global Employment Trends for Youth 2024 (GET for Youth), cautions that the number of 15- to 24-year-olds who are not in employment, education or training (NEET) is concerning, and that the post-COVID 19 pandemic employment recovery has not been universal. Young people in certain regions and many young women are not seeing the benefits of the economic recovery.
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 next. 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 report calls for greater attention on strengthening the foundations of decent work as a pathway to countering young people’s anxieties about the world of work and reinforcing their hope for a brighter future.
In a message to young readers, the report’s authors ask them to add their voices to calls for change. “You have the possibility to influence policy and to advocate for decent work for all. Know your rights and continue investing in your skills,” the message says. “Be a part of the change that we all need to ensure a socially just and inclusive world.”
