Child labour rises globally for the first time in decades

The number of child labourers has increased to 160 million from 152 million in 2016, with the greatest rise in Africa due to population growth, crises and poverty, said the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF).

"We are losing ground in the fight against child labour, and the last year has not made that fight any easier," UNICEF's executive director Henrietta Fore said in a statement, ahead of the World Day Against Child Labour on June 12.

"Now, well into a second year of global lockdowns, school closures, economic disruptions, and shrinking national budgets, families are forced to make heart-breaking choices."

The U.N. has made 2021 the International Year for the Elimination of Child Labour, saying urgent action is needed to meet a goal of ending the practice by 2025.

But major gains made since 2000 - when 246 million children were in work - are being reversed and the number could climb back to 206 million by the end of 2022 if governments introduce austerity measures or fail to protect the vulnerable, it said.

The U.N. said that child labourers may now be working longer hours or under worse conditions due to pandemic-related economic shocks and school closures, and many more may be forced into the worst forms of child labour.

The report highlighted an increase in the number of children aged 5 to 11 years in child labour, who now account for just over half of the total global figure, as well as a rise in those in hazardous work that is likely to harm their health or safety.