Youth unemployment reached 12.4% in 2025, about 2.5 times the projected global unemployment rate of 4.9% for 2026, highlighting a persistent gap in labor market outcomes even as headline jobless figures appear stable, the International Labour Organization said in its Employment and Social Trends 2026 report published on January 14. The report said the deeper concern is the 260 million young people classified as NEET (not in employment, education, or training), equal to about 20% of the global youth population, with the rate rising to 27.9% in low-income countries. ILO Director-General Gilbert F. Houngbo said stable top-line unemployment data can be misleading because they mask shortfalls in decent work opportunities, and he called for coordinated action by governments, employers and workers to use technology responsibly while expanding quality jobs, particularly for youth and women. The report also identified artificial intelligence as a growing risk for young job seekers, especially in advanced economies where adoption is moving quickly and demand is shifting toward high-skilled roles, potentially outpacing education and training systems and putting downward pressure on wages in some occupations. Beyond youth employment, the ILO said more than 2.1 billion workers are in informal employment, around 300 million people live in extreme working poverty on less than $3 per day, and women account for only two-fifths of global employment while being 24% less likely than men to participate in the labor force. A follow-up report, Global Employment Trends for Youth 2026, is due on August 11, 2026.