Published on: 2026-10-15
Source: United Nations – Объединенные Нации –
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October 14, 2026 Economic Development
Approximately 800 million young people preparing to enter the labor market in developing countries in the coming years will not be able to find jobs unless governments take the necessary measures. This was warned by the head of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Alexander De Croo.
“In the next 15 years, up to 1.2 billion young people will finish their education and enter the labor market,” De Croo said, speaking at a press briefing in New York from Bangkok, where he is participating in the annual meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund. “Unfortunately, jobs will be available for only 400 million of them. For the remaining 800 million, there will be no work.”
According to the head of UNDP, this gap is primarily due to demographic factors: in many developing countries, the average age of the population ranges from 18 to 25 years.
“This problem will not resolve itself. It is a direct result of the current policy being implemented,” emphasized De Croo.
From investments to jobs
The UNDP chief announced the launch of two initiatives aimed at stimulating investment and employment.
The first of them, Investment Accelerator, will help governments improve investment policy and legislative framework, create portfolios of investment-attractive projects, and support them from the preparation stage to implementation.
The second initiative, the Jobs for Prosperity Facility, will help countries identify industries with high job creation potential, align the workforce training system with employer needs, and remove barriers to business investment and employee hiring.
In response to a question about the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the labor market, De Croo noted that an active employment policy can change negative forecasts. According to him, sectors such as social care, agriculture, and tourism will continue to create a significant number of jobs even as AI implementation accelerates.
Both initiatives are implemented in cooperation with the World Bank, the European Investment Bank, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Pilot projects have already been launched in Nepal, Yemen, Haiti, Lebanon, and Ghana.
“Triple Shock”
Programs are being launched at a time when many developing countries are facing what De Croo called a “triple shock”: high energy prices, one of the strongest El Niño events since 1950, and high borrowing costs.
According to a new UNDP report, the average developing country spends 9.5 percent of all government revenue on debt interest payments. Moreover, for the first time since 2010, the number of people living in multidimensional poverty—which considers not only income levels but also access to electricity, water, healthcare, and education—has increased.
“These figures should be a serious warning signal for all of us,” De Croo stated.
He added that the global economy turned out to be more resilient than expected, but this resilience is distributed very unevenly: “Some countries maintain a fairly strong economic base. Others do not have such a base, and they are unable to withstand new shocks.”
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