A report by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) on International Youth Day (12 August) indicates that youth unemployment worldwide has reached a new high. Youth unemployment is climbing further and the ILO warns of the "risk of a crisis legacy of a lost generation" where young people drop out of the labor market, having lost all hope of being able to work for a decent living.

According to the report, of some 620 million economically active young people ages 15 to 24, about 81 million were unemployed at the end of 2009, the highest level in two decades of record-keeping by the organization. The global youth unemployment rate increased to 13% in 2009 from 11.9% in the last assessment in 2007.

Investing in Youth ‘Vital’

Later this month the World Bank is releasing a report outlining the real cost to families and country economic growth when young people are left to grapple on their own with HIV/AIDS and other diseases; violence; unemployment; inequality; and loss of self-confidence.

"In the lingering aftermath of economic crisis, investing in youth is vital" says the Bank. In 2010, it invested $2.3 billion to help youth with education, health, and work programs—recognising the need to step-up engagement with world youth by investing to help them acquire new skills to increase their wages and standards of living, raise families, and become proud citizens in their communities.

Source: World Bank, 12 August 2010