ILO warns of rise in juvenile unemployment in Latin America
29 agosto 2019

LABOUR

Juvenile employment. On August 12, the International Labor Organization (ILO) warned that youth unemployment is a challenge for the future of work in Latin America and the Caribbean, since currently about 10 million young people are unable to enter the labor market. “Everything seems to indicate that unemployment will not be reduced in the near future, according to the latest estimates from the ILO,” the agency warned, and added that those who find a job “face deficits of decent work and informality”. It is hoped that the statements of ILO representatives, as well as the report published in 2019 on global employment prospects, will serve to inform the formulation of regulations in the countries of the region in the medium term.

The ILO office for Latin America and the Caribbean reported that in some Latin American cities, such as Lima, the youth unemployment rate is close to 18%, the highest since 1991 when regional averages were introduced and the rate was around 11.1%. According to the ILO specialist in youth employment Guillermo Dema, the region’s unemployed number “almost 10 million young people between 15 and 24 years of age,” which accounts for why the agency “considers youth employment a priority issue”.

It is important to remember that the report on “World Social and Employment Prospects – Trends 2019”, published by the ILO in 2019, stated that the average youth unemployment rate in Latin America and the Caribbean was 17.9% in 2018, after having registered 18% in 2017. It is calculated that of an estimated 110 million young people between the ages of 15 and 24, 56.3 million are not part of the labor force, mostly because they are students. Of the 53.7 million already in the workforce, at least 9.6 million are unemployed. This number is about 40% of the total unemployed in the region, the ILO said. 

Next steps

In sum, the ILO has reported that youth unemployment in Latin America and the Caribbean has almost hit 10 million. This number implies that around 40% of the region’s  unemployed are between 15 and 24 years old. In view of this situation, and as a result of the ILO announcements, it is expected that the organization will call on the countries of the region to promote fresh initiatives to address the problem.

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