Table 1. Youth unemployment and working poverty trends and projections to 2017 Note: The working poverty rate is defined as the share of employed population in extreme or moderate poverty, i.e. with per capita income or consumption of less than US$3.10 per day. Youth are defined as 15-24. Source: World Employment and Social Outlook 2016: Trends for Youth .
Unequal opportunities
Across most labour market indicators, wide disparities exist between young women and men, underpinning and giving rise to wider gaps during the transition to adulthood. In 2016, for instance, the labour force participation rate for young men stands at 53.9 per cent compared to 37.3 per cent for young women – representing a gap of 16.6 percentage points.
The challenge is particularly acute in Southern Asia, the Arab States and Northern Africa, where female youth participation rates are, respectively, 32.9, 32.3 and 30.2 percentage points lower than those of male youth in 2016.
Unemployment increases are driven by the slowdown in emerging economies
Global economic growth in 2016 is estimated to stand at 3.2 per cent, 0.4 percentage points lower than the figure predicted in late 2015.
Table 2. Youth unemployment trends and projections to 2017, by regionSource: World Employment and Social Outlook 2016: Trends for Youth
The working poor
The poor quality of employment continues to disproportionately affect youth, albeit with considerable regional differences. For example, Sub- Saharan Africa continues to suffer the highest youth working poverty rates globally, at almost 70 per cent. Working poverty rates among young people are also elevated in Arab States (39 per cent) and Southern Asia (49 per cent).
In developed economies, there is growing evidence of a shift in the age distribution of poverty, with youth taking the place of the elderly as the group at highest risk of poverty (defined for developed economies as earning less than 60 per cent of the median income). For instance, in 2014, the share of young workers in the EU-28 categorized as being at a high risk of poverty was 12.9 per cent compared to 9.6 per cent of prime-age workers (aged 25–54). The challenge is particularly acute in some countries where the at-risk-of-poverty for young workers exceeds 20 per cent.
Willingness to migrate
Among the many reasons to migrate (e.g. armed conflicts, natural disasters, etc.) an elevated unemployment rate, increased susceptibility to working poverty and a lack of good quality job opportunities are key factors shaping young people’s decision to migrate abroad permanently.
Globally, the share of young people between 15 and 29 years old who are willing to move permanently to another country stood at 20 per cent in 2015. The highest inclination to move abroad, at 38 per cent, is found in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean, followed closely by Eastern Europe at 37 per cent.