Globally, youth are the largest poverty-stricken group, says new UN report

UNDP/S. Omer Sadaat

Children in Shade Bara village, Herat province, Afghanistan.

    

20 September 2018

Economic Development

Half of all people living in poverty are younger than 18 years old, according to estimates from a new report released on Thursday by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and partners.

The new figures in the 2018 global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) show that in 104 primarily low- and middle-income countries, 662 million children are considered poor according to multiple different indicators. In 35 of these countries. Children account for at least 50 per cent of the total.

The 2018 MPI, produced by UNDP and the University of Oxford’s Poverty and Human Development Initiative, provides the most comprehensive view of the many ways in which 1.3 billion people worldwide experience poverty in their daily lives.

The MPI looks beyond income to understand how people experience poverty in multiple and simultaneous ways across the three key dimensions of health, education and living standards; taking in factors such as a lack of clean water, sanitation, adequate nutrition or primary education.

Although the level of poverty – particularly in children – is staggering, so is the progress that can be made in tackling it - UNDP chief, Achim Steiner

According to the index, those who are deprived in at least one-third of the MPI’s components are defined as “multidimensionally poor”. The 2018 figures, which are closely aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), cover almost three-quarters of the world’s population.

Some 1.3 billion people live in multidimensional poverty, which is almost a quarter of the population of the 104 countries used to calculate the 2018 MPI. Of these, 46 per cent are thought to be living in severe poverty.

“The Multidimensional Poverty Index gives insights that are vital for understanding the many ways in which people experience poverty, and it provides a new perspective on the scale and nature of global poverty while reminding us that eliminating it in all its forms is far from impossible,” said UNDP chief Achim Steiner.

Progress is possible on poverty, argues UNDP chief

 While the latest figures paint a stark picture of just how many are still left behind, they also demonstrate that progress can happen quickly with the right approach.

 “Although the level of poverty – particularly in children – is staggering, so is the progress that can be made in tackling it,” he added, pointing out that in India alone some 271 million have escaped multidimensional poverty “in just ten years.” 

The poverty rate there has nearly halved, falling from 55 per cent to 28 per cent over the ten-year period.

 Although similar comparisons over time have not yet been calculated for other countries, the latest information from UNDP’s Human Development Index, which was released last week, shows significant development progress in all regions, including many Sub-Saharan African countries.

Between 2006 and 2017, the life expectancy increased over seven years in Sub-Saharan Africa and by almost four in South Asia. Moreover, enrollment rates in primary education are up to 100 per cent.

The data shows that in addition to the 1.3 billion classified as poor, another 879 million risk slipping further into multidimensional poverty due to conflict, sickness, drought, unemployment and other setbacks.

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Rising number of young people excluded from jobs, education and training

Çourtesy:UN News

World Bank/Li Wenyong

Employed youth, between the ages of 15 and 24, face a greater risk than older workers of losing their jobs because of automation.

    

9 March 2020

Economic Development

The number of young people around the world who are neither employed, studying or in some kind of training, is on the rise, according to a new report released on Monday by the International Labour Organization (ILO).

And young women are more than twice as likely as their male counterparts to be affected.

Increasing automation, a narrow focus of vocational training and a lack of jobs to match qualifications, are leaving young people with a precarious future in the labour market, says the report, officially called: Global Employment Trends for Youth 2020: Technology and the future of jobs (GET Youth 2020).

Moreover, employees between the ages of 15 and 24, face a greater risk than older workers of losing their jobs because of further technological advances, and those with vocational training are even more vulnerable.

International Labour Organization

✔@ilo

The number of young people not in employment, education or training (NEET) is on the rise, according to our latest report. Young women are more than twice as likely as young men to be affected.

Read the report here: https://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/newsroom/news/WCMS_737053?lang=en …

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“This reflects how the occupation-specific skills imparted by vocational training tend to become obsolete faster… than general education skills”, the report says, calling for modernized vocational training programmes that meet the evolving demands of the digital economy.

Upward trend

The report shows that since 2017, there has been an upward trend in the number of youth not in employment, education or training (NEET).

In 2016 there were 259 million young people classified as NEET – a number that rose to an estimated 267 million in 2019, and is projected to continue climbing to around 273 million in 2021.

In terms of percentage, the trend was also slightly up from 21.7 per cent in 2015 to 22.4 per cent in 2020 – implying that the international target to reduce the NEET rate by 2020 will be missed.

“Not enough jobs are being created for these young people”, said Sukti Dasgupta, Chief of the Employment and Labour Market Policies branch of the ILO Employment Policy Department.

“We can’t afford to waste this talent or this investment in learning if we are to meet the challenges posed by technology, climate change, inequality and demographics".

Women excessively affected

Some 267 million of the current population of 1.3 billion young people globally, are classified as NEET, two-thirds, or 181 million, of whom are young women.

Too many young people around the world are becoming detached from education and the labour market -- ILO 

“Too many young people around the world are becoming detached from education and the labour market, which can damage their long-term prospects, as well as ultimately undermine the social and economic development of their countries”, said Sangheon Lee, Director of the Employment Policy Department of the ILO.

But the reasons for the trend, vary enormously: “The challenge will be to balance the flexible approach needed to reach these young people with the strong policies and actions necessary to make an impact”, he continued, stressing that a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach will not work”.

GET Youth 2020 shows that those who do complete tertiary education, are less likely to find their jobs lost to automation.

However, they face other issues. The rapid increase in the number of young people with degrees in the labour force has outpaced the demand for graduate labour, pushing down graduate wages.

“Not enough jobs are being created for these young people, meaning the potential of millions is not being properly tapped”, said the ILO’s Ms. Dasgupta.

“We can’t afford to waste this talent or this investment in learning if we are to meet the challenges posed by technology, climate change, inequality and demographics”, she concluded. “We need integrated policy frameworks and responsive training systems, designed using dialogue between governments, workers and employers”.

Courtesy:UN News