Youth employment

Almost 88 percent of the world's 1.2 billion youth live in developing countries. The largest shares of young people aged 15 to 24 are in sub-Saharan Africa and Eastern and Southern Asia. In particular, in sub-Saharan Africa the youth population is projected to double in the next years, reaching 400 million by 2050. And yet, employment and entrepreneurial opportunities for young women and men remain limited – especially for those living in economically stagnant rural areas of developing countries.

Youth are particularly affected by the global unemployment crisis. They are three times more likely than adults to be unemployed, with a global youth unemployment rate of 15.6 percent – corresponding to 75 million youth. Furthermore, the majority of rural youth are employed in the informal economy, under casual or seasonal arrangements under which they earn low wages and face unsafe, often exploitive working conditions that compel many to migrate to urban areas. Re-engaging youth in agriculture requires addressing the numerous constraints that they face when trying to earn a livelihood. These include: insufficient access to skills development and education; limited access to resources such as land; and low levels of involvement in decision-making processes. Rural youth are also typically excluded from those institutions that provide access to financial services – such as credit, savings and insurance – which further hinders their ability to participate in the agriculture sector.

The role of FAO

Through policy assistance and awareness-raising, FAO seeks to develop a strong enabling environment in which young people can thrive and seize current and future decent rural employment opportunities. In particular, FAO works to:

• Develop innovative and field-tested approaches that address the constraints rural youth face in accessing decent work. For example, FAO’s private and public partnership model for youth employment in agriculture is designed to strengthen young people’s skills using specific, field-tested approaches. The model helps them to gain access to land, credit and markets, and enhances their ability to partake in policy debates relevant to their well-being.
• Support governments in the design and implementation of strategies that more effectively target rural youth.  For example, FAO works with governments to integrate youth issues into their agriculture and rural development policies and strategies.  
• Generate more country-specific research to advise stakeholders about employment conditions and opportunities in their respective countries. This can include analyses of a given country’s labour market conditions, youth employment situation, and untapped opportunities for generating rural employment.
• Advocate and further address rural youth’s needs at global, regional and national levels. For instance, FAO is a member of the United Nations Inter-Agency Network on Youth Development (IANYD) and an implementer of Youth2030, the UN Youth Strategy. At corporate level, FAO has identified 'youth' as a critical group whose needs must be addressed across all of FAO's programmatic work areas through a systemic approach, as outlined in the FAO Strategic Framework.

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