The unemployment rate among people in the Asia-Pacific aged 15-24 is projected to climb to 14.9% this year, the International Labour Organization (ILO) says.
The ILO's latest "Global Employment Trends for Youth 2022" report revealed that the Covid-19 pandemic continues to negatively impact young people more than any other demographic, as this age group is still lagging in terms of recovering employment.
"The pandemic has exacerbated the numerous labour market challenges facing those aged between 15 and 24 years, who have experienced a much higher percentage loss in employment than adults since early 2020," ILO Deputy Director-General for Policy Martha Newton said, citing the report. It is estimated the total number of unemployed youths will hit 73 million globally this year, a slight improvement on 2021, but still six million above the pre-pandemic level in 2019.
Meanwhile, the share of young people who are not in employment, education or training (NEET) in 2020 -- the latest year for which a global estimate is available -- rose to 23.3%, an increase of 1.5 percentage points from the previous year and a level not seen in at least 15 years, according to the report.
In order to address the situation, Ms Newton suggested that an additional 8.4 million jobs for young people could be created by 2030 through the implementation of "green" and "blue" policy measures, while the targeted investments in digital technologies could also absorb high numbers of young workers.
The report estimates that achieving universal broadband coverage by 2030 could lead to a net increase in employment of 24 million new jobs worldwide, of which 6.4 million would be taken by young people.
"Decent work investment in these sectors must be accompanied by the promotion of decent working conditions for all young workers. This includes ensuring that they enjoy fundamental rights and protections including freedom of association, the right to collective bargaining, equal pay for work of equal value, and freedom from violence and harassment at work," Ms Newton said.
"The Covid-19 crisis has revealed a number of shortcomings in the way the needs of young people are addressed, especially the more vulnerable such as first-time jobseekers, school dropouts, fresh graduates with little experience and those who remain inactive not by choice," she said.