SHAPING THE FUTURE HOW CHANGING DEMOGRAPHICS CAN POWER HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

FIGURE 3.8:
The share of youth who are not in employment or education is high in many countries
Note: Data range from 2008-2014.
Source: ILO 2016.
Among 358 million
youth globally who are
not in school, training
or employment,
220 million are in
Asia-Pacific
102
the situation for young women was even more
alarming at 28 percent. In Samoa, the rate for
all young people was 19 percent, but 25 percent
for young women, compared with 16 percent
for young men. 71
Competing against older, more experienced
candidates makes it difficult for youth to transition
from school to jobs. A significant portion of
young people—not reflected in unemployment
rates—have given up looking for work because
prospects are limited; they are not otherwise
in school or training. 72 Among the 358 million
youth globally who are not in school, training
or employment, 220 million are in Asia-Pacific,
of whom 101 million live in South Asia. 73 More
than one in four young people in Bangladesh,
India, Indonesia and Samoa fall in this category.
The rate in Cambodia and Nepal, by contrast, is
less than 1 in 10 (Figure 3.8). 74 Rates are much
higher for young women than young men, and
in rural areas compared to urban ones, with the
exception of Mongolia. About 300 million youth
in the region are considered underemployed.
For young people who do have jobs, a common
issue is quality. Many simply cannot afford
to be unemployed and are obliged to take any
job they can find, even if pay is poor and the
job does not correspond to their skills. Trapped
in low-paid, low-productivity jobs, they become
vulnerable to poverty, at rates that often exceed
those of adult workers—median wages for young
workers are generally below their adult counterparts
for the same level of education. 75 In
Bhutan, the youth working poverty rate surpasses
the adult rate by 10 percentage points, while in
Viet Nam it is higher by 5 percentage points. 76
A PROBLEM OF LIMITED AND
MISMATCHED SKILLS
Despite large numbers of unemployed young
people and a constantly growing labour supply,
many enterprises struggle to fill technical and
management positions because they cannot find
workers with the right skills, either among university
graduates or young people with secondary
education. This reflects poor quality education
and weak links between education systems and
employers—traditional education systems, in
particular, have not been able to provide the
technical skills demanded by growing economies.
Expanding education and improving literacy
rates is not enough; only high-quality, relevant
education will reduce skills mismatches and
youth unemployment rates.
Most secondary education in Asia-Pacific is