Youth unemployment went up worldwide last year, with some of the biggest increases seen in high-income economies while artificial intelligence is booming, the International Labour Organization (ILO) said on Tuesday.
Youth unemployment increased worldwide last year, with some of the biggest rises seen in high-income economies as artificial intelligence takes off, the International Labour Organization (ILO) said on Tuesday.
The ILO’s annual report on youth employment shows that the global unemployment rate for 15-24 year olds reached 12.4% in 2025, up from 12.3% in 2024, meaning 67 million people without jobs.
At the same time, the share of young people who are neither working nor in school or training (NEET) also rose slightly to 20%, which is over 257 million people.According to the ILO, the youth unemployment rate is expected to stay stable in 2026 and 2027, at 12.3%.
Despite this apparent stability, the organization is concerned: when the unemployment rate and the NEET rate “increase at the same time, we sound the alarm,” said Sara Elder, an official from the ILO’s Employment Policy Department, during the report’s presentation to the press.
Between 2023 and 2025, youth unemployment rose in eight of the world’s eleven subregions.
“The slowdown in economic growth, weak job creation, geopolitical tensions, and the acceleration of technological changes are leading countries toward a new youth employment crisis,” warns the ILO.Between 2023 and 2025, the biggest increases in youth unemployment were recorded in North America, North Africa, and Northern, Southern, and Western Europe.
The report shows that technological changes, particularly the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), are transforming job prospects for young people.
The decline of many mid-skill jobs is making it harder for young people to access stable careers.
According to the report, jobs that traditionally served as entry points into the labor market for young people — including office and administrative roles, service and sales jobs, manufacturing-related positions, and some technical professions — are decreasing.”6.1% of jobs currently held by young people aged 15 to 29 are in professions highly exposed to AI-related changes,” Sukti Dasgupta, Director of the ILO’s Employment, Skills, and Sustainable Enterprises Department, told reporters.
“If 10% of these AI-exposed jobs were to disappear, 5.6 million young workers, mostly in high-income countries, would face unemployment, a career change, or leaving the labor market,” she pointed out.
