Protecting and mobilizing youth in COVID-19 responses

Abstract

Prior to the onset of COVID-19, youth (aged 15 to 24) were already three times more likely to be unemployed com¬pared to adults, while 126 million young workers were in extreme and moderate poverty worldwide (International Labour Organization, 2020). Young workers are also more likely to be in precarious employment than other age groups. Whereas some 77 per cent of youth are estimated to be informally employed globally, this per¬centage is even higher for young women in low and lower-middle-income countries (International Labour Organization, 2018).