115M children toil in hazardous jobs: UN

United Nations labour officials say 115 million children worldwide are working in hazardous jobs with the brunt of the hardship being felt by teenage boys.

The International Labor Organization reported Friday that more than half the world's 215 million child labourers are working in dangerous jobs in fields like agriculture, mining and construction.

The head of ILO's program to eliminate child labour said the number aged 15 to 17 rose by 20 per cent in the latest figures with boys most susceptible because of recent international attention to the plight of young girls, though there was an overall decline among children aged 5 to 17.