Children around the world are missing school to work. The issue is most critical in regions with poverty and limited access to education.
https://www.iowapublicradio.org/news-from-npr/2025-06-26/how-many-kids-go-to-work-instead-of-school
Child marriage is closely linked to high adolescent pregnancy rates. Girls under 18 have little control over their reproductive health and limited autonomy in making reproductive decisions. In Bangladesh, 53 percent of adolescent girls lack control over their reproductive health.
Find out more here: https://asianews.network/the-cost-of-marrying-off-girls-too-soon/
Author: Michael Rivas
In commemoration of World Day Against Child Labor on June 12, 2025, the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) released their joint report on the status of global child labor. This report, titled Child Labour: Global estimates 2024, trends and the road forward, is part of both organizations’ broader research and data collection initiative. Issued once every four years, these estimates play a key role in directing child labor responses around the world.
The recent data from the 2024 report estimates that there are roughly 22 million fewer children engaging in child labor than there were in 2020. This means, in total, there are an estimated 138 million children engaged in child labor worldwide, with 54 million of them in “hazardous work” (defined as jeopardizing their health, safety, or development) in 2024.
The report notes this recent progress as “welcome news” amidst the fear of a continual increase in global child labor brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Historically, higher levels of socio-economic disparities correlate with an increase in child labor. However, the feared loss of progress did not materialize. While world governments did not meet their goal to end child labor globally by 2025, they have been able to return to a “path of progress.”
While all regions of the world have seen progress in lowering child labor, there remains large variations between regions. The report notes that significant progress was made in both Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as in Asia and the Pacific, with both regions showing an “absolute decline” in child labour. The Sub-Saharan region of Africa remains the most prevalent in terms of rates of child labor, with an estimated 87 million children engaging in child labor, accounting for nearly two-thirds of the global total. Progress in the region has remained stagnant as the population continues to rise, meaning the total number of children in child labor within the region has remained the same.
The report also emphasizes the gender disparities within child labor. As seen in past reports, trends of boys engaging in higher levels of child labor remain, with 9 percent of boys aged 5 through 17 in child labor, compared to 7 percent of girls. However, the report authors acknowledge an important caveat, namely that “…the child labour definition underlying it does not consider involvement in household chores within children’s own homes.” This is important to note, as girls are disproportionately found to be engaged in domestic work, which often goes unrecorded. Taking this into account, researchers state that the gender gap would reverse.
Within the recorded cases included in the report, the world continues to see specific economic sectors with prevalent levels of child labor. Specifically, the agricultural industry accounts for 61 percent of global child labor. Also of concern, hazardous work remains a grave issue across all sectors. In the industrial sector for example, more than 60 percent of all child labor is hazardous, and in the services sector, nearly half of all recorded child labor is hazardous.
These are just the cases that the report was able to track. Many of the worst forms of child labor—as defined in the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention No. 182—remain complicated to track. As a result of their often hidden and sensitive nature, these cases of child labor continually remain underreported, and subsequently undercounted in the report’s findings.
Looking forward, both the ILO and UNICEF make the call for an increase in international effort towards eliminating child labor. While the abolition of child labor by 2025 was not met, both organizations remain committed to helping governments put an end to it within the near future. Eliminating child labor by 2030 would require “a pace of change that is 11 times faster than it has been in the last four years.” An accelerated pace of 7 times the current amount would meet the target by 2045, and a pace 4 times the present would meet the target by 2060. No matter the timeframe, it is evident that more work needs to be done to combat child labor in all its forms.
Addressing child labor requires constant vigilance from both governments, remediation organizations, and child labor advocacy groups. The ILO and UNICEF stress that governments must implement proper policy responses as well as establish or strengthen social protection systems. The report highlights the importance of fulfilling children’s human rights to quality education as critically important in combating child labor. Education is essential in both removing children from exploitative work, as well as in equipping them to avoid future violations of their rights. Report authors highlight how children working in child labor struggle to balance both school and work, sometimes causing students to drop out of school entirely, which can further push families into inter-generational cycles of poverty.
Lastly, UNICEF and the ILO have both expressed concerns over potential cuts to global funding, which could rollback some of the hard-earned gains in combating child labor. These funds not only aid in preventing the root causes of child labor, but also help fund research and data collection, which remains essential to creating strategies to address the issue. Now, as much as ever, there is a need for sustained and increased funding, instead of cuts towards child labor resources.
Sources:
Access the Child Labour: Global estimates 2024, trends and the road forward here
Michael Rivas is a graduate student at the University of Connecticut studying Human Rights and Political Science.
By Alyssa Bredefeld
The U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce held a hearing on Wednesday, June 6th, where Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer was questioned. The hearing focused on what Committee Chairman Tim Walberg (R-Mich.) described as the “Trump administration’s plans for a smaller and more effective government for taxpayers”—a statement that reflects the administration’s “slash and burn” ideology, set in place by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). This department rapidly dismantled vital policy and aid programs in the name of streamlining. Unsurprisingly, the hearing was riddled with empty promises and evasive answers that signaled a lack of commitment to stopping child labor and the exploitation of American workers. The Secretary’s responses foreshadowed diminished protections for American workers and an increase in the number of children working in unsafe conditions.
One of the most urgent concerns was the proposed budget cuts to the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, which investigates labor violations and enforces labor laws. Representative Lucy McBath (D-Ga.) highlighted the current severe staffing shortages, noting that the division went from went from 1,000 staff in 1948 to 611 by the end of the Biden administration—despite our workforce being much larger. She added that “investigators in a dozen states told The New York Times that their understaffed offices could barely respond to the number of complaints, much less open their own independent investigations.” With the Trump administration shuttering many state Wage and Hour offices and pressuring federal employees to retire or accept buy outs, that number of 611 inspectors could continue to drop quickly and significantly.
Chavez-DeRemer’s response to questioning did little to alleviate concerns. “If you say that more money will always solve the problem, I would probably have to disagree,” stated Chavez-DeRemer, returning to the message of “modernizing and streamlining” the government promoted by DOGE. Chavez-DeRemer refused to answer whether the number of investigations into child labor would decrease, stating only, “I will do everything in my effort to protect against child labor.”
While her promise to protect against child labor may sound reassuring, it means little without policy and action. As Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) put it, “the math isn’t mathing.” Without adequate staffing, investigations can’t proceed, allowing wage theft, misclassification, and dangerous conditions to continue unchecked. According to UNICEF, the United States saw an 88% increase in child labor violations between 2018 and 2023. Addressing these numbers before they worsen is critical to protecting the future of the American workforce. The Secretary of Labor’s inability to answer basic questions about investigative staffing signals an unwillingness to put children first and ensure protection for the most vulnerable. This hearing made it abundantly clear that Chavez-DeRemer’s loyalty lies with the Trump administration, not with American workers or children.
Sources
Alyssa Bredefeld is a senior at the University of Connecticut studying Human Rights and Allied Health Sciences.
June 20th is World Refugee Day. To highlight the challenges refugees face worldwide, especially issues that affect children, we have compiled a fact sheet to inform people on this worldwide day of recognition.
Facts compiled or updated by CLC’s Alyssa Bredefeld, a student at the Gladstein Family Human Rights Institute, University of Connecticut,
6/17/2025.
CLC members—the Ramsay Merriam Fund, the American Federation of Teachers, and the National Education Association—made this web site possible through their generous support.