Global Youth Unemployment Rate Falls to Lowest Level in 15 Years

The International Labor Organization (ILO) said in a report published today, that the global youth unemployment rate fell to its lowest level in 15 years last year (2023) and is likely to continue falling until 2025. The organization stated that the youth unemployment rate reached 13 percent last year (2023), representing a decrease from the 13.8 percent rate recorded in 2019 before the pandemic. The organization expected this rate to decrease further over the next two years to reach 12.8 percent in 2024 and 2025, adding that the reason for the improvement in the market is the strong economic growth rates after the COVID-19 pandemic, which stimulated demand for labor from young people. In 2023, youth unemployment rates in most sub regions either returned to pre-pandemic levels or improved, but this was not the case everywhere. Specifically, the Arab States, East Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific experienced higher youth unemployment rates last year (2023) compared to 2019, according to the organization. This is a continuation of the trend that prevailed in Arab countries before Covid-19. But it was a change in direction from the stronger growth that the Asian sub-regions witnessed years before the pandemic. The organization also noted that the much younger average age of the population in Africa compared to more developed countries has raised questions about economic sustainability there. The organization said that the impending "youth earthquake" in Africa means that job creation will become a critical issue for achieving social justice and the future of the global economy. Source: Oman News Agency