If the Executive and Legislature reach an agreement, more than 8 million young people could access formal employment in the next 5 years.
Once the electoral polarization is over, addressing the problem of youth employment must be a priority for the new government and the Legislature. In 2025, the unemployment rate for the population aged 20 to 24 was 10.3%, almost double that of general unemployment, while the informality rate is higher than the national average.
Along these lines, Encountering us for Peru (ExP), an initiative of Es Hoy and Apoyo Consultoría, found strong concern about this issue. Through a national urban-rural survey taken in November 2025 that asked citizens to choose the most important public policy options to promote employment, the following were identified: “promote youth employment through incentives” (55%) and “adapt higher training to labor demand” (53%).
In this context, ExP has transformed these preferences into concrete measures to promote youth employment. First, there is a tax incentive for the first formal youth employment that reduces the labor cost of hiring young people without reducing their labor rights. The measure consists of allowing the young person’s salary cost plus a fixed additional amount to be deducted from the taxable amount of the Income Tax (IR), which is reduced as the young person’s salary increases, which emphasizes its temporary nature. To implement this measure, the Executive should modify the IR Law, among other regulations, which is possible in less than 3 months.
If the Executive and Legislature reach an agreement, more than 8 million young people could access formal employment in the next 5 years.
Secondly, there is a push to dual traininga model in which licensed institutions partner with companies to design training programs that complement the experience that young workers are obtaining and allows them to value the skills they are developing. For this, it is necessary to modify the regulations of the Law on Labor Training Modalities via Supreme Decree.
Furthermore, it is important enhance the My Career platform from the Ministry of Labor and Employment Promotion (MTPE) with information that is permanently updated so that young people can better decide which career to study, which ones are in greatest demand, which institution to enroll in, remunerations according to the educational institution of graduation, among others. This is key for young people to better define their future. This requires a ministerial resolution from the MTPE and information exchange agreements with Minedu, Sunedu and Pronabec.
Finally, the creation of a scheme of Tax Scholarships to finance careers with high labor demand, incorporating a tax treatment that allows donations to Pronabec intended for educational scholarships to be recognized as a deductible expense from IR. Thus, it complements the state scholarship system and ensures that outstanding young people have access to more scholarships, prioritizing sectors such as technology and science, which have high labor demand and little professional offer. This requires a bill from the Executive with support from the legislature to create the Tax Scholarship regime and modify the IR Law.
Together, these measures generate better information, bring the labor and educational markets closer together, and facilitate access to financing, crucial factors to ensure that the potential of our young people is not lost. Furthermore, each of them has the citizen support of 85% on average. The proposals are ready, the only thing missing is decision and conviction to move them forward.
