PERU · ECONOMY
Key Facts
—What happened: Peru’s youth unemployment rate hit its highest since 2016 in 2025.
—How big it is: The ILO-based rate for ages 15-24 was 11.8 percent in 2025.
—What it means: Young Peruvians struggle to find formal jobs, pushing many into informality.
—The catch: Another ILO-based estimate puts the 2025 rate at 9.45 percent.
—Who it hits: Workers aged 15-24, especially women and those in poor regions.
—What comes next: President Keiko Fujimori’s government faces pressure to create formal jobs.
Peru youth unemployment hit its highest level in nearly a decade in 2025. Two different readings of the same data circulate, at 11.8 and 9.45 percent.
Two estimates, one contested peak
Peru’s youth unemployment was the highest since 2016 in 2025. Gestion reported that reading of an International Labour Organization study.
The study is Global Employment Trends for Youth 2026: Back to the future, published on 11 August 2026.
Gestión says the rate for people aged 15 to 24 rose from 10.9 percent in 2024 to 11.8 percent in 2025. That would be the highest since 2016, excluding the pandemic years.
The number that does not match
A second ILO-based estimate gives a different picture. The World Bank’s modelled ILO estimate puts the 2025 rate at 9.45 percent for the same age group.
The two figures differ by 2.4 percentage points. That gap means the headline rate is contested, not settled.
Below the global average
The same ILO report puts global youth unemployment at 12.4 percent in 2025. Peru’s cited rate of 11.8 percent sits below that world figure.
Gestión says Peru’s rate surpasses the Latin American average, but it does not publish a regional number. The ILO release itself does not name Peru.
What Peru’s own data shows
Peru’s statistics agency, INEI, tracks a different age group. Its quarterly survey for the first quarter of 2026 puts youth unemployment at 9.6 percent for ages 14 to 24.
That is nearly double the national unemployment rate of 5.1 percent for the same period. About 271,800 young people were unemployed, INEI reported.
Informality is the bigger trap
Unemployment is only part of the problem. In the first quarter of 2026, 84.8 percent of workers aged 14 to 24 held informal jobs, according to INEI.
Informal work means no contract, no social security, and no labour protections. Between July 2025 and June 2026, the share was 84 percent, RPP reported.
Why young people leave the workforce
Some young Peruvians are giving up on job hunting. In the second quarter of 2026, 215,000 people under 25 left the labour market.
That is a 7.8 percent fall in the youth labour force from a year earlier.
INEI called the reduction ‘muy altamente significativa’ or very highly significant. Paola Herrera, an economist at the Instituto Peruano de Economía, said the decline in youth employment has been happening for several quarters.
The first-job barrier
Paola Cotrina of Horizonte Laboral described a catch-22 for young workers. Without experience, there is no formal job, but experience only comes from working.
Rafael Zacnich, economics manager at ComexPeru, has linked the problem to slow economic growth. Formal job creation has not kept pace with the number of young people entering the labour market.
Who is most affected
The gender gap shows up clearly in the NEET measure, which counts young people not in employment, education, or training. In 2024, 23.3 percent of women aged 15 to 29 were NEET, against 11.6 percent of men, according to INEI.
More than 1.4 million Peruvians aged 15 to 29 neither studied nor worked in 2024. That is 17.4 percent of the age group, on INEI’s count.
The gap is widest among women, at 23.3 percent against 11.6 percent for men.
What the government faces
Keiko Fujimori was sworn in on 28 July 2026 as Peru’s first elected female president. She faces pressure to create formal jobs for young people.
Her government has been in office for six weeks.
Ceplan, the national strategic planning centre, warned on Labour Day about persistent gaps in youth employment and job quality. It calls for policies to ease the transition from school to work.
Who the experts are
Paola Herrera works at the Instituto Peruano de Economía, a private research group in Lima. Paola Cotrina is from Horizonte Laboral, a group that helps young people find work.
Rafael Zacnich is the economics manager at ComexPeru, a business lobby that tracks trade and employment. These experts appear in Peruvian media to explain labour trends.
What the government is doing
President Keiko Fujimori took office on 28 July 2026. Her government has promised more jobs but has not yet released a detailed youth employment plan.
Ceplan, the national planning agency, has called for better school-to-work transitions. It says young people need training that matches what employers want.
Why informality matters
Informal jobs are common across Latin America, not just in Peru. In Peru, about 70 percent of all workers are informal, according to Diario Correo.
For young people, the rate is higher, near 85 percent. Informal workers have no contract, no pension, and no health insurance from their job.
The gender gap in detail
Young women in Peru face a bigger barrier than men. In 2024, 23.3 percent of women aged 15 to 29 were not in education, employment, or training.
For men, the rate was 11.6 percent, according to INEI. That gap means many women stay home for care work or cannot find jobs.
What could change next
Economists say faster growth is the main fix. They also want apprenticeships and vocational training to close the skills gap.
Cutting red tape for small firms could help them hire formally. Without action, the risk is a lost generation stuck in precarious work.
What the ILO report says
The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency that tracks work trends worldwide. Its report, Global Employment Trends for Youth 2026, covers many countries.
Gestión, a Peruvian business newspaper, wrote about the report in September 2026. The newspaper says Peru is one of 18 countries where youth unemployment hit a near-decade high.
Why the numbers differ
The ILO and the World Bank use different methods to estimate unemployment. The World Bank’s model, shared by the St. Louis Fed, gives a lower rate for Peru.
That is why one source says 11.8 percent and another says 9.45 percent. Neither is wrong; they measure slightly different things.
What informal work means
In Latin America, informal work is common. It means a job without a written contract, social security, or benefits like paid leave.
Many young Peruvians take such jobs because formal positions are scarce. This leaves them without protection if they get sick or lose work.
What the government plans
President Keiko Fujimori’s government has promised to boost job creation. But it has not yet released a detailed plan for youth employment.
Ceplan, the national planning agency, suggests better training and school-to-work programs. These would help young people gain skills employers want.
What could change next
Economists say faster economic growth is the main fix. They also want apprenticeships and vocational training to close the skills gap.
Cutting red tape for small firms could help them hire formally. Without action, the risk is a lost generation stuck in precarious work.
What could change the picture
Economists say faster economic growth is the main solution. They also recommend better vocational training and apprenticeships to close the skills gap.
Reducing informality requires making it easier for businesses to hire formally. Without action, the risk is a lost generation stuck in precarious work.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Peru’s youth unemployment rate?
For ages 15 to 24, the ILO-based rate was 11.8 percent in 2025, according to Gestión. The World Bank’s modelled estimate puts it at 9.45 percent.
Why is youth unemployment so high in Peru?
Economists point to slow economic growth and a lack of formal jobs. Many young people also lack the experience that employers demand.
What is informal employment?
Informal employment means working without a formal contract or social security. In the first quarter of 2026, 84.8 percent of working youth aged 14 to 24 were informal.
How does youth unemployment compare to the national rate?
Youth unemployment is nearly double the national average. In early 2026, the national rate was 5.1 percent, while the youth rate was 9.6 percent for ages 14 to 24.
What can be done to reduce youth unemployment?
Economists suggest boosting economic growth and creating more formal jobs. They also recommend better training programs and policies to cut informality.
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