Youth unemployment 'set to rise'

Global youth unemployment will continue rising over the next five years, according to a new report from the International Labour Organization.

The effects of the euro crisis will spill over from developed to emerging economies, the ILO says, pushing youth unemployment to almost 13% by 2017.

The ILO warned that many young people have given up hope of ever finding a job.

The report calls for government-backed jobs and training.

The ILO points out that some countries where youth unemployment is relatively low, such as Austria, Denmark and Sweden, have successfully introduced such programmes.

"Schemes using employment guarantees and an emphasis on training could help get jobseekers off the street and into useful activities, providing a safeguard against further economic stress," lead author of the report Ekkehard Ernst said.

The report says that although youth unemployment in Europe is forecast to fall slightly in the next few years, this is not likely to be because more jobs are available.

"Much of this decline in the jobless rate is not due to improvements in the labour market, but rather to large numbers of young people dropping out of the labour force altogether due to discouragement," the ILO says.

"These discouraged youth are not counted among the unemployed," it adds.

The eurozone crisis will impact on emerging economies in East Asia and Latin America as demand in Europe slows and exports decrease.

Youth unemployment is rising in these emerging economies.

The Middle East and North Africa have the highest rates of youth unemployment and will continue to do so, the report says.

Even though the number is expected to fall slightly in North Africa, the report estimates it will still stand at 26.7% in 2017, with the Middle East projected to have 28.4% of its young people out of work by that date.