Citigroup is planning to hire 6,000 young people in the Asia Pacific (APAC) in the next three years to offset the youth unemployment rate in the region, Bloomberg reported.

A spokesman for the bank said that the lender will offer job opportunities across banking, capital markets and advisory, markets and securities services, and consumer banking businesses.

The recruitment programme will include a mix of new roles and annual hiring needs, the report added.

While the hiring will take place in the APAC region, most of the positions are anticipated to be filled by the people in Southeast Asia.

According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), the APAC region has a youth population of 700 million people, representing half of the world’s youth population.

They represent 20% of the working-age group in the region and account for 50% of unemployment.

According to the 2020 earnings reports, the APAC region contributes 25% of the global revenues, outside North America.

Citigroup APAC CEO Peter Babej said: “Communities in the Asia Pacific are facing a youth unemployment crisis, especially among low-income and underserved groups, due to the impact of Covid-19.”

Additionally, for youth below 24 years of age, the lender is offering 60,000 job training opportunities across its retail and institutional businesses in the region.

The New York-based bank and the Citi Foundation have pledged to invest $35m in philanthropic contributions and grants, the Bloomberg report added.

This investment will help improve youth employability from low-income and underserved communities in Asia by 2023.