Youth Unemployment Near 2009 Peak

Overall jobless numbers may be showing some improvement, but among youths worldwide, things are nearly as bad as they were at their 2009 peak. Some 12.7% of people ages 15 to 24 —almost 75 million youths—are set to be unemployed this year, the International Labor Organization says. That's compared to 12.6% in 2011, or 13.6% not counting those who are ditching or delaying the job search. In 2009, 75.4 million young people were jobless, the peak figure since the economic crisis began, AFP reports.

And there's not much hope for the immediate future, the ILO says: "By 2016, the youth unemployment rate is projected to remain at the same high level." And with some 6 million youths giving up on the job search, their skills are slipping away, potentially making it more difficult to get work in the future, the BBC notes. The "crisis can be beaten," the group notes, "but only if job creation for young people becomes a key priority in policy-making and private sector investment picks up significantly." For instance, governments could provide tax incentives to businesses who hire young people. (More youth stories.)