BY VICTOR AHIUMA-YOUNG

GLOBAL youth unemployment including Nigerians between aged 15 and 24, the International Labour Organisation, ILO, has said, is now over 75 million.

ILO in a “Global Employment Trends for Youth 2012”  report just released, said the global youth unemployment rate for 2012 remained stuck at crisis peak levels and was not expected to come down until at least 2016.

In a statement by ILO’s Guebray Berhane, Senior Communication and Public Information Officer, Regional Office for Africa Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, said there had been four million more jobless youth since 2007.

According to the statement, “Projections show 12.7 per cent of the global youth labour force will be unemployed this year, unchanged from the peak of the crisis in 2009, and slightly up from last year’s 12.6 per cent, the report says. The rate would even be higher if one takes into account those who – often discouraged by the lack of prospects – give up or postpone looking for a job.

“The adjusted rate would put the global youth unemployment rate at 13.6 per cent in 2011. In terms of global numbers, there will be nearly 75 million unemployed youth aged 15 to 24 in 2012, an increase of nearly 4 million since 2007.”

“In North Africa, youth unemployment rose by 5 percentage points following the Arab Spring, leaving 27.9 per cent of young people jobless in 2011. In the Middle East the rate was of 26.5 per cent. In Sub-Saharan Africa, the rate, at 11.5 per cent in 2011, has been fairly stable since 2005.

Globally and in most regions, the crisis had a stronger impact on youth unemployment rates among women than men. The difference was particularly strong in North Africa, while in developed economies, the impact was stronger for young men.

Many young people are trapped in low-productivity, temporary or other types of work that don’t pave the way for better jobs. In developed economies, youth are increasingly employed in temporary and part-time jobs while in the developing world many perform unpaid work supporting informal family businesses or farms.

“Young people who are neither in employment nor in education have become a serious concern, particularly in developed economies. This group often constitutes at least 10 per cent of young people, and has grown rapidly in many developed countries.

“The Global Employment Trends for Youth 2012 is published ahead of the May 23-25 global Youth Employment Forum that will bring together 100 young people involved in the promotion of decent work for youth. The issue also features prominently on the agenda for the ILO’s annual International Labour Conference in June 2012.”