Youth Unemployment Remains High in Middle-Income Countries
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Young workers face stark differences in job prospects depending on where they live, new ILO data shows. A similar pattern is seen in Europe, where the latest Eurostat figures show youth unemployment at 14.8 percent across the EU, with even higher rates in Spain and Italy. (See our breakdown of EU youth unemployment trends.)
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Youth unemployment is not falling at the same pace everywhere. In 2024, young people in upper-middle-income countries faced jobless rates twice as high as their peers in low-income economies, according to new data from the International Labour Organization.
The numbers reveal a global youth unemployment rate of 12%, with young men at 12.4% and young women at 12.3%. But the gap by income level is more striking. Upper-middle-income countries reported a youth unemployment rate of 16%, the highest of any group. Low-income countries, by contrast, recorded just 8%.
These differences may be misleading. In low-income regions, lower unemployment often reflects informal or subsistence work, not access to decent jobs. Underemployment and lack of protections remain widespread. But in middle-income countries, many young people are educated and seeking formal jobs, only to find that economic growth has not kept pace with rising expectations.
High-income countries, meanwhile, have made progress. Youth unemployment there fell to 11% in 2024, down from pandemic-era highs, thanks in part to labor market recovery and skills-focused interventions.
The long-term trends show how persistent these divides are. Over the past three decades, youth joblessness has hovered between 12% and 14% globally, with upper-middle-income countries consistently at the top of the scale. Recovery from Covid-19 has not erased these gaps.
The ILO warns that the picture is one of unequal opportunity. Young workers from low-income and middle-income countries face systemic barriers to entering stable employment. Without targeted action, these gaps are likely to persist, even as overall unemployment declines.
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