Workers at a FDI company in Thai Nguyen - Photo: VAN THAI
On January 16, the International Labor Organization (ILO) Office in Vietnam announced the World Employment and Social Outlook Report 2025.
What is the unemployment rate worldwide?
The slowing global economy is making it difficult for the labor market to fully recover, the report said. The unemployment rate held steady at 5%. However, youth unemployment remains high at 12.6%.
ILO experts said that informal employment and working poverty have returned to pre-COVID-19 levels.
Geopolitical tensions, rising costs of climate change and unresolved debt issues are putting pressure on the labor market.
Most countries are recovering from the pandemic and inflation. Inflation is falling but remains high, depressing the value of wages. In fact, wages are rising only in a few advanced economies.
The report says that labor force participation rates in low-income countries have been falling.
In high-income countries, however, the number of older workers and women is increasing.
In many places, the proportion of young men who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) is increasing, making them more vulnerable to economic challenges.
By 2024, the proportion of NEETs in low-income countries will increase.
Specifically, this number will increase to 15.8 million young men (about 20%) and 28.2 million young women (about 37%), an increase of 500,000 and 700,000 people, respectively, compared to 2023.
Globally, there are nearly 86 million young men and more than 173 million young women who are NEET, up 1 million and 1.8 million respectively from the previous year.
186 million unemployed people worldwide
In 2024, the ILO estimates that the number of people who want to work but are unemployed will reach 402 million.
This includes 186 million unemployed, 137 million temporarily unemployed and 79 million discouraged workers who have stopped looking for work. The ILO estimates that the employment gap will narrow and stabilize over the next two years.
The study added that renewable energy jobs increased by 16.2 million globally, driven by investment in solar and hydrogen. However, the jobs were unevenly distributed, with nearly half in East Asia.
The report makes several recommendations, such as boosting productivity through investment in skills training, education and infrastructure to support economic growth and job creation.
Expand social protection through safe working conditions, reduced inequality and easy access to social protection.
The ILO suggests that low-income countries can tap remittances, community funds and resources from working abroad to support local development.
Mr. Gilbert F. Houngbo – ILO Director General – emphasized the role of decent work and productive work in mitigating the impacts of climate change, soaring debt…
“Every delay risks deepening the crisis and leaving millions of people even further behind,” he said.
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