The latest findings from the International Labour Organization (ILO) paint a rather grim picture for young people trying to get a proper foothold in employment. Global youth unemployment climbed to 12.4 per cent in 2025, leaving around 67 million people aged between 15 and 24 without work. The proportion of young people outside employment, education or training also edged up to 20 per cent, representing more than 257 million people worldwide. Eight of the world’s 11 subregions recorded higher youth unemployment between 2023 and 2025. Sluggish economic growth has reduced the number of fresh opportunities available to people entering the labour market for the first time. Geopolitical tensions have added another layer of uncertainty for employers, workers and governments. Rapid technological change has also altered the skills employers expect from young recruits. For many young people, the traditional route from education to stable employment now looks increasingly shaky. The figures suggest a labour market where getting your foot in the door has become a serious challenge for an entire generation. The ILO has warned that a generation unable to secure decent employment faces difficulties building economic security and confidence about the future.
The situation carries a clear legal dimension because access to decent employment sits close to the heart of international labour standards. The idea of decent work connects employment with dignity, equality, security and fair treatment. Labour law has traditionally developed from the recognition that workers possess weaker bargaining power than employers in many employment relationships. This principle supports the protective character of labour legislation and explains why minimum standards exist around wages, working time, social security and workplace rights. Young workers entering employment may possess limited experience and limited bargaining strength, which can leave them particularly exposed to precarious arrangements. The maxim ubi jus ibi remedium captures the basic proposition that a recognised right requires an effective remedy. A legal system that formally recognises the right to work still needs institutions capable of making that right meaningful in daily life. Employment services, labour inspection, social protection systems and accessible dispute mechanisms therefore form part of the practical architecture of labour rights. The principle of dignitas humana places human dignity at the centre of employment policy and rejects the idea that a job should be treated as a mere source of income. From that position, youth employment policy becomes a matter of rights, institutional responsibility and social justice rather than a simple question of economic statistics.
The pressure looks particularly sharp in wealthier economies, where young workers have encountered a shrinking supply of traditional entry level occupations. Youth unemployment in Northern America rose from 8.3 per cent in 2023 to 9.8 per cent in 2025. Northern, Southern and Western Europe recorded youth unemployment of around 15 per cent in 2025. Twenty of the 29 countries in that European grouping reported weaker employment prospects for young people. Clerical and administrative work has declined in importance as organisations automate routine tasks and reorganise their operations. Service, sales, manufacturing related and certain technical occupations have also faced structural changes. These developments create a social problem because first jobs often provide more than a wage. They offer experience, professional networks, confidence and a route towards independent adulthood. When those opportunities disappear, young people can find themselves stuck in a queue for jobs that demand experience they have not yet had the chance to acquire. That situation can produce a rather unfair cycle where employers seek ready made skills while young workers need an initial opportunity to develop them.
The developing world faces a different employment headache, with low unemployment figures sometimes hiding deep insecurity. Young people who cannot afford a lengthy period without income may accept informal work simply to keep the bills paid. Nearly nine out of ten workers aged 15 to 29 in low and lower middle income countries are employed informally. Informal employment can leave workers without reliable income protection, effective social insurance or meaningful workplace safeguards. The legal issue reaches beyond the wording of labour statutes because formal rights have limited value when workers remain outside effective regulatory structures. This reflects the classic labour law doctrine that substantive protection requires enforceable institutions and practical access to justice. Lex specialis reminds legal systems that specific rules designed for vulnerable groups can carry particular importance where general rules fail to address their circumstances. Young informal workers may need tailored pathways into formal employment, social protection and skills development. A state that allows a large generation to survive through insecure work risks creating a permanent class of workers who remain economically active while remaining socially unprotected. The social consequences can include delayed family formation, reduced mobility, weaker trust in institutions and a growing sense that the economic game is rigged from the start.
The figures from the Arab States and Northern Africa show how severe the problem can become where demographic pressure meets weak employment creation. Youth unemployment reached 26.2 per cent in the Arab States and 22.6 per cent in Northern Africa in 2025. At least one in three young people in both regions were classified as NEET. Such figures matter because prolonged exclusion from education and employment can affect a person’s earnings, skills and social participation for years. A young person without a route into work may lose opportunities to build professional experience during a crucial stage of life. From a sociological perspective, employment operates as a bridge between individual aspirations and collective membership. When that bridge becomes difficult to cross, frustration can spread from households into communities and public institutions. The social contract becomes strained when young citizens believe that effort and education offer no credible route towards a secure livelihood. John Rawls’s concern with fair equality of opportunity is relevant here because genuine opportunity requires more than formal access to education or recruitment processes. A society that permits structural barriers to persist can produce legally equal citizens who experience radically unequal chances to build a decent life.
Technology has added another twist to the employment story, with artificial intelligence changing the value of particular skills and occupations. The ILO estimates that 6.1 per cent of jobs held by young people aged 15 to 29 are highly exposed to AI related changes. Clerical and administrative roles appear especially exposed because many tasks within those occupations can be automated or reorganised through digital systems. The situation calls for a serious rethink of education, training and lifelong learning. Young people need opportunities to develop technical competence alongside judgement, creativity, communication and problem solving skills. From a legal standpoint, technological transformation creates questions about equality, transparency, worker consultation and responsible governance. Employers adopting AI systems should have clear responsibilities around fair recruitment, workplace monitoring and employment decisions. Governments also carry a duty to ensure that technological progress does not deepen existing inequalities. The principle of salus populi suprema lex places public welfare high among the reasons for regulatory intervention when technological change creates broad social risks. AI can become a useful tool for productivity and opportunity when institutions keep human dignity and social protection firmly at the centre of the transition.
The challenge also raises a philosophical question about what society actually means when it talks about work. A job can provide money, yet its social value reaches into identity, autonomy, belonging and personal development. The idea of decent work reflects a belief that human beings should never be reduced to economic units whose value depends solely on productivity. Amartya Sen’s capability approach offers a useful way of understanding this problem because genuine freedom depends upon people possessing real opportunities to develop and pursue lives they have reason to value. A young person trapped between unemployment and insecure informal work may technically possess freedom of choice while lacking meaningful options. The same concern appears in the broader philosophical tradition surrounding human dignity and social citizenship. Labour markets function properly when individuals can participate without surrendering their basic security or self respect. Labor omnia vincit captures the cultural belief that work can transform individual and collective life through effort and contribution. That maxim loses its force when opportunities for decent work remain inaccessible to large groups of young people. Public policy should therefore treat employment as part of human flourishing, rather than viewing young workers simply as inputs into economic growth.
The problem also demands attention to the relationship between education and employment because qualifications alone no longer guarantee a smooth transition into working life. Apprenticeships, vocational training and workplace based learning can give young people practical experience before they compete for permanent roles. Employment services can provide another bridge by connecting jobseekers with employers and identifying skills that match changing demand. Young women require particular attention because structural barriers can restrict their access to training, employment and career progression. Social protection can provide breathing space for young people who face temporary unemployment or unstable work. From a legal policy standpoint, such measures reflect the doctrine of positive obligations, where public authorities may need to take active steps to make rights effective. A purely formal approach would leave the state watching from the sidelines while labour market barriers grow. A socially responsible system requires public institutions to anticipate risks and design mechanisms that widen genuine opportunity. Fiat justitia ruat caelum expresses the uncompromising idea that justice should remain a governing value even when implementation becomes difficult. For young workers, justice means a labour market where their age does not become a structural disadvantage and where public policy gives them a fair shot at building a stable future.
There is also a strong institutional question surrounding the responsibility of governments, employers and workers organisations. The ILO model places social dialogue at the centre of labour governance because employment policy affects groups with different interests and different sources of bargaining power. Governments shape the legal framework, employers create employment opportunities and workers organisations represent collective interests. Each institution carries a distinct responsibility for maintaining a labour market capable of delivering decent work. The principle of tripartism gives this arrangement a practical structure through cooperation among public authorities, employers and workers. Effective governance requires reliable labour market data because policy makers need to understand where employment opportunities are disappearing and where new demand is emerging. Governments also need to align education systems with genuine labour market needs while preserving broad intellectual development. Employers can strengthen entry routes through apprenticeships, mentoring and structured career development. Workers organisations can help young employees understand their rights and participate in collective bargaining structures. The legal maxim pacta sunt servanda expresses the importance of keeping commitments once they have been undertaken, a principle that carries persuasive value when governments and institutions promise stronger protection for young workers. Trust grows when policy commitments translate into concrete opportunities rather than disappearing into paperwork and press releases.
The ILO report ultimately points towards a labour market where the route into adulthood needs rebuilding around security, dignity and opportunity. Its proposed measures include human centred AI governance, stronger education and lifelong learning, expanded apprenticeships, improved employment services and stronger social protection. The report also calls for more decent employment through supportive macroeconomic and sectoral policies. Those recommendations carry a clear legal significance because labour rights require institutions capable of protecting workers during periods of economic and technological disruption. They also carry a social significance because young people excluded from stable work may experience long term consequences extending well beyond their first years of employment. The philosophical principle behind decent work is straightforward, human beings deserve conditions that allow them to participate in society with dignity and genuine freedom. A labour market that creates wealth while leaving millions of young people stranded at its margins carries a serious legitimacy problem. Economic growth needs a social foundation if it is to generate durable prosperity. The old maxim fiat justitia ruat caelum remains relevant because justice should guide institutional choices when economic pressures make reform politically awkward. Young people need more than motivational speeches about resilience and adaptability, they need functioning institutions that give those qualities a fair chance to bear fruit. The task ahead is to make decent work a realistic destination for young people rather than a slogan that looks good on paper while leaving an entire generation thinking the system has gone a bit pear shaped.
