ILO Warns Of Youth Unemployment Crisis

A new report by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has revealed that almost 13% of young people worldwide are out of work, and their situation is unlikely to improve in the next four years.

The report also shows that many skilled young people are being forced into part-time and unskilled work.

As it warns of a "crisis" with more than six million people so disillusioned they have given up looking for work, the ILO is calling on governments to make job creation a priority.

Calling for more training schemes and tax breaks for employers, executive director of the ILO's employment sector, Jose Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, said: "The youth unemployment crisis can be beaten but only if job creation for young people becomes a key priority in policymaking and private sector investment picks up significantly."

Since 2007, the number of young people without jobs has risen by four million - up from less than 12%, the Global Employment Trends for Youth report says.

(H)