The numbers, although often cited, are still staggering: We need 600 million new jobs over the next decade just to keep employment rates stable and keep up with population growth. Young people are up to four times as likely as adults to be unemployed. Around a third of youth worldwide — 621 million — are not in employment, education or training.
It’s clear more needs to be done — but do we know how much more?
Not according to a report published in August by the International Youth Foundation and Center for Strategic and International Studies, titled “Urgent and Important: Measuring Investments in Youth Economic Opportunity.” The report found there is “virtually no data” on how much global donors are investing in youth economic opportunity: Spending in this area is rarely categorized as such and is often embedded in larger projects, meaning few donors provide specific numbers.
About the author
Anna Patton
Anna Patton is a U.K.-based freelance journalist, an associate editor at Pioneers Post, and an accredited trainer in solutions journalism. She previously worked with development NGOs and EU/government institutions in Berlin, Brussels, and Dar es Salaam, and has led media projects with grassroots communities in Uganda and Kenya. Anna is a fellow of On Purpose, a social change leadership program.
