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NEET rates remain stubbornly high, spotlighting urgent youth employment challenge
Nov 20, 25
The Office for National Statistics’ latest data shows that the total number of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) remains stubbornly high, with around 946,000 young people across the UK not earning or learning.
Despite small quarterly fluctuations, there has consistently been over 900,000 young people not earning or learning throughout the last 12 months. These numbers reflect reduced job vacancies, shrinking apprenticeship pathways, and declining youth mental health – continuing to lock young people out of earning or learning and creating a long-term challenge that demands bold and sustained action.
Our Youth Employment 2025 Outlook report published earlier this month proposes that the UK adopt a ‘North Star’ goal, to match the OECD leader, the Netherlands; where 1 in 20 young people are NEET, in comparison to 1 in 8 in the UK. Achieving this could increase the number of young people earning or learning by 567,000 and deliver £86 billion in long term economic gains.
“Today’s figures confirm that the number of young people not in education, employment or training remains stubbornly high, with no real shift from previous quarters. This is a long-term problem that continues to negatively shape the lives of too many across the country.
“One in eight are still out of work or learning. Over a third of unemployed young people have been looking for work for over six months. Without decisive action, we risk pushing even more young people further from the labour market and heightening the risk of long-term unemployment.
“We welcome the government’s commitment and action in tackling the challenge, with the Youth Guarantee and post-16 education and skills white paper. Given the scale of the challenge we know more will need to be done to build on these initial steps, to create lasting change that benefits both young people and the wider economy.”
Barry Fletcher, Chief Executive at Youth Futures Foundation
