In 2023, the global NEET rate among young people was 21.7 per cent, a notable decrease from 23.8 per cent in 2020. It closely matched the 2015 baseline of 21.8 per cent and is expected to persist through 2025. Northern Africa and Western Asia and Central and Southern Asia reported higher rates of 28.5 per cent and 27.4 per cent, respectively. Central and Southern Asia saw significant improvement, reducing its rate by 7.5 percentage points since 2005. Sub-Saharan Africa experienced an increase. Globally, young women are over twice as likely as young men to be NEET. In Central and Southern Asia, nearly half of young women are NEET compared to only 12.3 per cent of young men. Northern Africa and Western Asia echo this disparity. With about 269 million young people globally not in education or work in 2023, intensified efforts are needed to reduce NEET rates, particularly among young women.

Fewer countries had an operationalized national strategy for youth employment in 2023 compared to previous years. Only 36 of 87 reporting countries had implemented such a strategy. Around one third had a strategy but without evidence of implementation. One fifth were developing one.

From 2015 to 2022, the global average level of national compliance with labour rights declined by 7 per cent, with the average score worsening from 4.50 to 4.81. This indicator, ranging from 0 to 10, signifies national compliance with freedom of association and collective bargaining rights, with 0 indicating the highest compliance and 10 the lowest. The deterioration has affected developed, developing and least developed countries, with decreases of 0.2, 0.3 and 0.8 points, respectively, since 2020. Scores have worsened for 33 per cent of ILO member States since 2020; only 11 per cent have improved their scores, partly due to legislative reforms. Regional averages reflect substantial declines in Eastern and South-Eastern Asia, Central and Southern Asia, Europe and Northern America and Latin America. Northern Africa and Western Asia saw marginal improvements. Increased violations and restrictions on civil liberties, especially in union formation and bargaining rights, drive the trend. Freedom of association and collective bargaining are enabling rights to exercise fundamental rights at work, with a crucial role in social justice.

Globally, over 2 billion people were in informal employment in 2023, comprising 58.0 per cent of the global workforce, a share projected to slightly decrease to 57.8 per cent in 2024. This rate is down from 58.4 per cent in 2015, reaching its lowest point, but the number of informal workers is at its highest level. This suggests that widespread formalization is unlikely soon. Economic challenges are pushing workers into informal jobs without social protection, a significant barrier to social justice. Informal employment persisted most notably in the LDCs at 89.1 per cent in 2023, a rate nearly unchanged since 2015. The rate in Europe and Northern America was only 11.4 per cent. Women, particularly in the LDCs and regions with high informality rates, experienced a disproportionate increase in informal employment during the pandemic. Over 90 per cent of employed women in the LDCs and nearly 90 per cent in sub-Saharan Africa and Central and Southern Asia performed informal work.

The COVID-19 pandemic inflicted unprecedented damage on tourism. Its contribution to the global economy plummeted from 3.8 per cent of GDP in 2019 to 1.8 per cent in 2020. In 2022, the sector rebounded to 82 per cent of its 2019 level, contributing to 3.1 per cent of global GDP, as it tapped pent-up demand following the end of travel restrictions and resumption of air connections. While most regions are nearing 2019 levels, challenges persist for Oceania (excluding Australia and New Zealand) and the small island developing States, with the economic performance of tourism at 68 per cent and 43 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, respectively. Tourism remains crucial for jobs, local ecosystems, peacebuilding and poverty reduction through income generation and tax revenues. Challenges such as inflation, climate change, geopolitical conflicts and uneven economic recovery threaten the sustainable development of the sector, particularly in small island developing States, which rely heavily on tourism.