The findings are contained in the ILO’s Global Employment Trends for Youth 2026: Back to the Future, which examines youth labour markets worldwide and the conditions shaping young people’s transition from education into employment.
Youth unemployment in North Africa rose by nearly two percentage points between 2023 and 2025, reaching 22.6%, giving the region the largest increase recorded over the period. North Africa is now among the regions with the highest youth unemployment rates worldwide, alongside the Arab States.
The region’s difficulties extend beyond young people who are actively looking for work. The ILO estimates that 30.1% of young people in North Africa were not in employment, education or training (NEET) in 2025. That means roughly three in every 10 young people were outside both the labour market and formal education or training.
Read also : Morocco’s unemployment drops below 10% in six months: Economic recovery or statistical revision?
Worldwide, the youth unemployment rate stood at 12.4% in 2025, equivalent to about 67 million young people, while the number of young people classified as NEET reached 257 million, an increase of 9 million since 2023.
Women face a wider gap
The burden is not distributed evenly between young men and women. Globally, the proportion of young women who were NEET stood at 27.4% in 2025, more than twice the 13.1% recorded among young men. Women represented more than two-thirds of the world’s NEET youth population.
The ILO identifies unpaid care responsibilities, discrimination and limited access to quality employment among the barriers keeping young women out of work and education. These obstacles are particularly pronounced in North Africa and the Arab States.
A labour market changing faster than young workers
The ILO links the deterioration in youth employment prospects to several developments, including slower economic growth, weaker job creation, geopolitical tensions and rapid technological change.
For young people, the problem is not simply whether they can find any job. The transition into employment also depends on whether economies create enough opportunities that match their education and skills and provide a path toward stable and productive work.
Read also : Stellantis Maroc, JLM Alumni launch digital skills program for young job seekers
The report’s findings on North Africa come as young people across the region continue to face difficulties moving from education into employment. The high NEET rate shows that unemployment figures alone do not capture the full scale of the problem: many young people are outside the labour market altogether rather than simply counted among those actively searching for a job.
AI is changing the starting line
The ILO also examines how artificial intelligence could reshape the jobs young people typically rely on when entering the labour market. The report warns that entry-level positions may face particular pressure as employers adopt AI for tasks that are relatively routine and easier to automate.
That does not mean AI will simply eliminate jobs for young workers. The report points instead to a changing relationship between workers and technology, with some tasks being automated while others are transformed or created. For young people trying to get their first job, however, the changes could make the transition into employment more difficult if the traditional entry-level tasks that allow workers to gain experience become less available.
Read also : Direct social assistance brings exceptional allowance for households taking up formal employment
This creates an additional challenge for education and training systems. Young people will need skills that allow them to work alongside increasingly capable technologies, rather than compete with AI on tasks that machines can perform. The ILO therefore highlights the importance of combining technical skills with social, cognitive and other complementary skills, alongside lifelong learning and policies that help workers adapt as technology changes.
The ILO’s proposed response
The ILO calls for policies that address the different barriers facing young men and women rather than treating youth employment as a single problem. Its recommendations include gender-responsive employment policies, better access to quality education and apprenticeships, stronger employment services and social protection, as well as opportunities for lifelong learning.
The report also highlights the need to prepare young workers for technological changes, including artificial intelligence. It calls for stronger AI governance and for education and training systems to develop both technical skills and social and cognitive skills that can complement changing technologies.
