Youth employment statistics show a mixed global picture. In 2023, 64.9 million people aged 15–24 were unemployed worldwide, while the global youth unemployment rate reached 13.0%, its lowest level in 15 years. Yet about one in five young people were not in employment, education or training (NEET), and women represented two-thirds of young people in global NEET status. These figures point to recovery in headline unemployment without equal access to work, learning or secure jobs.
Contents
- Global youth employment and unemployment
- Regional differences
- NEET rates and transitions into work
- Gender gaps
- Education and school-to-work outcomes
- Job quality, security and sectors
Global youth employment and unemployment
The International Labour Organization (ILO) recorded 64.9 million unemployed young people aged 15–24 in 2023. The global youth unemployment rate was 13.0%, down from 13.8% in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic. The ILO’s Global Employment Trends for Youth 2024 describes the 2023 rate as the lowest in 15 years. Global Employment Trends for Youth 2024
A lower unemployment rate does not mean that every young person is working. The global youth employment-to-population ratio was 35.0% in 2023. The ILO estimated 434.6 million employed young people worldwide that year. This ratio measures the share of all young people who are employed, including those outside the labour force, so it complements rather than duplicates the unemployment rate. Global Employment Trends for Youth 2024 (full report)
The ILO projected a global youth unemployment rate of 12.8% in 2025 and 64.8 million unemployed young people aged 15–24. It also projected 437.5 million employed young people and a youth employment-to-population ratio of 34.6% in 2025. These are forecasts, not observed outcomes, and should be read separately from the 2023 estimates. Global Employment Trends for Youth 2024 (full report)
The age gap remains substantial. In 2024, the global youth unemployment rate was 12.9%, compared with 3.7% for adults. This difference captures the difficulty many young people face when entering the labour market, even when overall employment conditions are comparatively stronger. SDG Indicators: Goal 8
Regional differences
Youth labour markets vary sharply by region. In 2023, the Arab States had a youth unemployment rate of 28.0%, the highest among the ILO subregions, while North Africa recorded 22.3%. North America had the lowest rate among the listed ILO subregions at 8.2%. Latin America recorded 13.4%. Global Employment Trends for Youth 2024: Middle East and North Africa; Global Employment Trends for Youth 2024: The Americas
The employment-to-population ratio shows another side of the comparison: it describes how many young people are employed out of the whole youth population. In 2023, the ratio was 47.9% in North America, 40.9% in East Asia and 40.4% in sub-Saharan Africa. It was 27.3% in South Asia, 19.3% in the Arab States and 18.3% in North Africa. Global Employment Trends for Youth 2024 (full report); Global Employment Trends for Youth 2024: Middle East and North Africa
| Region | Youth unemployment rate, 2023 | Youth employment-to-population ratio, 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| North America | 8.2% | 47.9% |
| Latin America | 13.4% | Not supplied |
| East Asia | Not supplied | 40.9% |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | Not supplied | 40.4% |
| South Asia | Not supplied | 27.3% |
| Arab States | 28.0% | 19.3% |
| North Africa | 22.3% | 18.3% |
The measures should not be treated as interchangeable. A region can have a lower unemployment rate partly because fewer young people are participating in the labour market, while a higher employment-to-population ratio indicates that a larger share of the total youth population is working.
NEET rates and transitions into work
NEET statistics capture young people who are neither employed nor in education or training. About 20% of people aged 15–24 were in NEET status globally in 2023. The ILO projected 259.1 million young people aged 15–24 in NEET status in 2024 and 261.9 million in 2025. Those figures are projections and use the 15–24 age range. Global Employment Trends for Youth 2024; Global Employment Trends for Youth 2024 (full report)
Eurostat uses a different age range for its EU comparison. In 2025, 11.0% of EU residents aged 15–29 were NEET. The rate ranged from 5% in the Netherlands to 19% in Romania. By age, the EU rate was 5.3% for people aged 15–19, 12.8% for those aged 20–24 and 14.7% for those aged 25–29. Statistics on young people neither in employment nor in education or training
The EU 15–29 NEET rate fell by 4.2 percentage points between 2015 and 2025. Italy recorded a 12.4-point decrease and Greece a 10.5-point decrease over the same period. In 2025, 12.5% of EU residents aged 15–19 were both employed and in education or training; the corresponding share for ages 20–24 was 22.5%. These combined statuses help distinguish early work-and-study transitions from complete disconnection from both work and learning. Statistics on young people neither in employment nor in education or training
Gender gaps
Youth employment statistics show persistent gender differences in both access to work and connection to education. In 2023, women made up two-thirds of young people in global NEET status. In Central and Southern Asia in 2024, 41.9% of young women were NEET, compared with 11.5% of young men. SDG Indicators: Goal 8; Global Employment Trends for Youth 2024
In the Arab States in 2023, youth unemployment was 38.5% for women and 25.7% for men. In North Africa, the corresponding rates were 34.0% for women and 18.8% for men. North Africa also recorded a youth employment-to-population ratio of 6.9% for women, compared with 29.4% for men. Global Employment Trends for Youth 2024: Middle East and North Africa
The Americas show a similar divide in NEET status. In 2023, the youth NEET rate in Latin America was 25.9% for women and 13.5% for men. In the Caribbean, it was 25.1% for women and 15.4% for men. Global Employment Trends for Youth 2024: The Americas
In the EU in 2025, the 15–29 NEET rate was 12.0% for young women and 9.9% for young men. Romania had an 11.2-percentage-point female-to-male NEET gap among 15–29-year-olds. Statistics on young people neither in employment nor in education or training
Education and school-to-work outcomes
Education does not produce the same labour-market outcome everywhere. In low-income countries in 2023, youth unemployment was 21.0% among people with advanced education and 5.8% among those with basic education. This comparison should not be read as evidence that more education causes higher unemployment; it can reflect the kinds of jobs available, expectations, labour-market participation and the difficulty of finding work that matches qualifications. Global Employment Trends for Youth 2024
School and training participation also differed by income group. In 2023, the share of young people attending school or training was 40.1% in low-income countries, 49.4% in lower-middle-income countries and 50.7% in upper-middle-income countries. The categories describe country income groups, not individual earnings. Global Employment Trends for Youth 2024
Eurostat reported a clear education gradient in the EU in 2025: the 15–29 NEET rate was 12.8% for people with low education, 11.0% for medium education and 8.0% for high education. Low-education NEET rates ranged from 6.1% in Sweden and Poland to 35.8% in Romania. Among tertiary-educated 15–29-year-olds, rates ranged from 3.6% in Sweden to 19.1% in Greece. Statistics on young people neither in employment nor in education or training
Job outcomes also differ by country income level. The ILO estimated that, in high-income countries, four in five young adult workers aged 25–29 were in regular paid work in 2023, compared with one in five in low-income countries. Two in three young adult workers in developing economies held qualifications that did not match well to their jobs. These are report estimates, not a single global administrative count. Global Employment Trends for Youth 2024
Job quality, security and sectors
Employment status alone does not show whether youth work is secure. Informal employment accounted for 57.8% of global employment in 2024. The ILO’s 2023 youth report also stated that more than half of young workers globally were in informal employment. The two figures refer to different reporting periods and should not be combined. SDG Indicators: Goal 8; Global Employment Trends for Youth 2024
Temporary paid jobs lasting less than 12 months made up about one-fifth to one-quarter of employment among young adult workers, according to an ILO report estimate. In Latin America and the Caribbean in 2023, 51% of young adult workers were in a non-secure job, 38.7% of young female workers were in part-time work and the time-related underemployment rate was 9.2%. Global Employment Trends for Youth 2024; Global Employment Trends for Youth 2024: The Americas
Sector composition changes over time. In Latin America and the Caribbean, 35.2% of young workers were in trade, transport, accommodation and food services in 2021. In North Africa, paid employment accounted for 62.8% of youth employment in 2022. Between 2001 and 2021, agriculture’s share of youth employment in North Africa fell by more than 10 percentage points, while trade, transport, accommodation and food services increased their share by more than 6 percentage points. Global Employment Trends for Youth 2024: The Americas; Global Employment Trends for Youth 2024: Middle East and North Africa
Job insecurity is also reflected in attitudes. Two in three young people surveyed globally were worried about losing their job, according to the ILO youth report. This is a survey finding, not an estimate of the number of people who actually lost work. Global Employment Trends for Youth 2024
Location matters within the EU. In 2025, the EU 15–29 NEET rate was 10.3% in cities, 11.0% in towns and suburbs, and 12.2% in rural areas. The city-to-rural gap reached 20.5 percentage points in Romania and 18.5 points in Bulgaria. Statistics on young people neither in employment nor in education or training
Eurostat reported that the EU youth unemployment rate for people under 25 was 15.0% in December 2024, representing 2.927 million unemployed young people. In the euro area, the rate was 14.8%, representing 2.359 million unemployed young people. These December 2024 figures use the under-25 definition and therefore are not directly interchangeable with the ILO’s global 15–24 or Eurostat’s EU 15–29 NEET measures. Euro area unemployment at 6.3%