The International Labour Organization said youth unemployment among 15-to-24-year-olds rose to 12.4% in 2025 from 12.3% in 2023, reversing post-pandemic improvement and leaving 67 million young people unemployed worldwide. It said 20% of young people, or more than 257 million, were not in employment, education or training, while youth joblessness remained highest in the Arab States and Northern Africa and increased in eight of 11 global subregions. The ILO warned that shrinking middle-skilled jobs and AI-related disruption could deepen pressure, with 6.1% of jobs held by 15-to-29-year-olds in occupations most exposed to AI-related change and a 10% loss of those jobs potentially affecting about 5.6 million young workers. It also said nearly nine in 10 young workers in low- and lower-middle-income countries remain in informal employment.