Young people not earning or learning reaches highest in a decade

“This figure of 987,000 is a rise of over 100,000 in one year, and over 250,000 more young people than three years ago when we were emerging from the pandemic.

“Since 2021, NEET rates have risen consistently, with both unemployment and economic inactivity as the driving forces. This contrasts with the post-2008 trend in which unemployment increased dramatically while economic inactivity remained stable.

The data also reveals half of the increase in economic inactivity over the past three years is due to ill health, with mental health being one of the most common health conditions driving this.

“As the youth employment challenge worsens, it’s imperative we continue to expand the evidence base to find out what works and ensure policymakers, employers and others put this evidence into action.”

Dr Andrea Barry, Principal Economist at Youth Futures Foundation

“The latest ONS data reveals the number of young people not earning or learning continues to rise in the UK, with almost a million young people not in education, employment or training. That is one in eight young people across the country.

“If we are to prevent long-term scarring effects for young people and achieve the economic growth needed in our country then we need sustained focus on the issue. We’d like to see the UK set a long-term goal to have the highest participation rate overall in the OECD for young people by 2050. If we could match the Netherlands who lead the way in this, we would get 500,000 more young people into work and boost our economy by £69bn.

“This ambition is the focus for a new cross-party inquiry we are pleased to be supporting, led by Policy Connect. Co-chaired by Lauren Edwards MP, Josh Babarinde OBE CF MP, and Lord Shinkwin, the inquiry will look to develop an ambitious policy agenda and plan to achieve this ‘north star’ goal. “

Barry Fletcher, CEO at Youth Futures Foundation