Bangladesh and other countries in South Asia recorded the highest unemployment rate of 15.1 per cent in 2023, according to an International Labour Organisation report.

The countries, however, recorded the lowest youth unemployment rates in 15 years in 2023.

The report attributed this to high rates of youth not engaged in employment, education, or training (NEET), due to a lack of equal opportunities, limited access to training and jobs, and the exclusion of young women from schooling and employment opportunities.

In 2023, the NEET rate among young women in South Asia was nearly four times higher than that of young men, with rates of 42.4 per cent and 11.5 per cent, respectively.

This 31-percentage-point gender gap marked the largest disparity in youth NEET rates worldwide.

The report titled ‘Global Employment Trends for Youth 2024 (GET for Youth)’ published on Monday, highlighted an improved global labour market outlook for young people over the past four years, with an upward trend expected to continue for two more years.

However, it also warned that the number of 15- to 24-year-olds not in employment, education, or training remains a concern, and that the post-COVID-19 pandemic employment recovery has been uneven.

Many young people, particularly in certain regions and among women, are not benefiting from the economic recovery, it said.

Report said that the global youth unemployment rate of 13 per cent in 2023, equivalent to 64.9 million people, represents a 15-year low, down from the pre-pandemic rate of 13.8 percent in 2019.

It is projected to decrease further to 12.8 percent this year and next. However, the situation varies across regions, with youth unemployment rates in the Arab States, East Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific being higher in 2023 than in 2019, the ILO report said.

The report also highlighted other challenges young people face in securing successful employment.

Despite improvements, many young people worldwide remain NEET, and opportunities to access decent jobs are limited, particularly in emerging and developing economies, it mentioned.

Globally, one in five young people, or 20.4 percent, were NEET in 2023, with two-thirds of these being female, ILO report showed.

The report cautioned that the persistently high NEET rates and the insufficient growth of decent jobs are contributing to growing anxiety among today’s youth, who are also the most educated generation ever.

The ILO Bangladesh office in a statement said that the report came at a crucial time as Bangladesh was undergone a significant political transition.

Tuomo Poutiainen, ILO Country Director for Bangladesh, said that Bangladesh is a nation defined by its youth.

He expressed confidence that the report’s findings and recommendations would be instrumental in shaping a better future for the country’s youth, aligning with the interim government’s priority of ‘Zero Unemployment’.

He said that with around two million young people entering the labour force annually and over a quarter of the population (25.81 percent) in the 15-29 age group, Bangladesh has significant potential to capitalize on the benefits of a demographic dividend.

Notably, 36.7 percent of the total labour force falls within this age group, highlighting the country’s potential for future growth, ILO country director mentioned.

‘The ILO stands ready to provide technical support to Bangladesh in pursuing practical actions to make inclusive, full, and productive employment a reality,’ Poutiainen added.