Nearly 1 Million Young People Out Of Education And Work

Nearly one million young people are still not in education, employment or training, damning new figures have revealed.

The official data released by the government showed that the number of so-called NEETs fell by 30,000 between April and June.

However, an estimated 981,000 16 to 24-year-olds remained economically inactive, piling pressure on ministers to act.

The figures emerged a day after the first group of young people began work as part of the government’s “jobs guarantee” scheme, which sees young people on Universal Credit supported into work.

Work and pensions secretary Pat McFadden said bringing down the number of NEETs – which soared after the Covid pandemic – was “a priority” for the government.

“We are determined to turn the tide on the youth unemployment crisis, which has been years in the making with the number of young people not in education, employment or training rising by 248,000 between 2021 and 2024,” he said.

“These latest figures underline why we are addressing youth inactivity as a priority.”

Lindsay Judge, research director at the Resolution Foundation think-tank, said the latest statistics were “a worrying sign that Britain’s NEET crisis is a long way from easing”.

“Good intentions and warm words will not achieve the systemic shift needed on their own,” she said.

“Reversing this trend in the long-term will take serious investment – on a similar scale that lower-NEET countries devote to supporting young people into work or training – and a joined-up effort from the level of Whitehall departments to local services.

“Without that, we risk our younger generation paying the price for a system that is failing to support them through the transition to adulthood.”

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