The latest Office for National Statistics data shows that 981,000 people aged 16 to 24 in the UK were not in education, employment or training between April and June. The figure represents roughly one in eight young people in that age group.
The number has fallen from more than one million during the first quarter of the year, when NEETs accounted for 13.5% of 16 to 24-year-olds. However, the latest estimate is 3% higher than the 951,000 recorded during the same period last year.
The ONS has warned that quarterly movements in the figures can vary because the estimates are based on a sample of households. It said longer-term trends provide a more reliable picture than individual quarterly changes.
Young People Face Difficult Job Market
The figures come as the government prepares to receive the final part of a major review by former minister Alan Milburn, which is expected to recommend measures aimed at reducing the number of young people outside work, education or training.
Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said ministers would consider the recommendations and introduce proposals or legislation if required.
McFadden described the UK labour market as being in a “robust position” but acknowledged that helping young people into employment remained a long-term challenge.
The government is currently testing a Jobs Guarantee scheme designed to help 90,000 young people over the next three years. The programme targets people receiving Universal Credit who have been seeking employment for at least 18 months, offering 25 hours of paid work each week for six months.
The government also plans to provide an additional 300,000 work experience placements and 50,000 youth apprenticeship starts. Employers hiring young people who have been unemployed for six months can also receive £3,000 hiring incentives.
Young Workers Describe Struggle to Find Jobs
For some young people, securing their first job has proved particularly difficult.
Asia Mason, 22, from London, spent more than two years applying for positions before obtaining her first job with the NHS.
After completing a health and social care qualification at college, Mason hoped to build a career in maternity care. She applied for more than 30 positions but was repeatedly told she did not have enough experience.
She questioned how young people could gain the required experience when employers were unwilling to give them their first opportunity.
Mason eventually obtained an NHS position after completing a social care programme run by The King’s Trust, which helped her develop practical experience and greater confidence. She hopes to become a midwife.
NEET Numbers Rise Among Young Men
The latest increase compared with last year has been driven largely by young men.
An estimated 25,000 additional young men were classified as NEET during the April-to-June period, compared with an increase of about 4,000 among young women.
The first part of Milburn’s government-commissioned review, published in May, described the reasons for the rise among young men as complex.
It pointed to factors including increasing health problems, the decline of traditional routes into employment and widening differences in educational achievement.
The review also linked the NEET problem to social disadvantage, identifying higher rates among young people who have grown up in poverty, have special educational needs or disabilities, lack GCSE-level qualifications, or are from Black, African and Caribbean backgrounds.
Warning of a Lost Generation
Milburn’s report warned that without significant action, one in six young people could be out of work within five years.
The review described the situation as a potential “lost generation”, highlighting the difficulties faced by young jobseekers who can submit dozens or even hundreds of applications without securing employment.
Recent analysis also found that competition for degree apprenticeships in England has increased sharply, with applications through the government’s Find an Apprenticeship service quadrupling over three years.
Opposition parties have criticised the government’s approach.
Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Helen Whately accused Labour of damaging employment opportunities for young people through measures including higher employer National Insurance contributions.
Liberal Democrat spokesperson Munira Wilson described the number of NEET young people as a “generational betrayal”. She called for greater incentives for businesses to offer apprenticeships and more opportunities for degree apprenticeships.
The final part of Milburn’s review, containing recommendations on how the government should tackle the growing number of young people outside education, employment and training, is expected to be published in the coming weeks.]
