The number of NEET young people in the UK (those not in education, employment or training) fell to an estimated 981,000 in April to June, according to the Office for National Statistics, after the total had crossed one million earlier this year for the first time in more than a decade.
NEET is the acronym used for anyone aged 16 to 24 who is not studying, working or undertaking formal training. The latest quarterly figures show a fall of 30,000 compared to the first three months of the year, but the total remains 30,000 higher than it was a year ago.
What the NEET figures actually show
The dip offers only limited comfort to those watching the issue. Chris Goulden, deputy chief executive of the Youth Futures Foundation, said the data was ‘a stark reminder that, despite small fluctuations in the data, the youth employment challenge remains a large, long-term problem.’ He added that ‘hundreds of thousands of young people are continuing to miss out on the opportunity to earn, learn and build a secure future, leaving long-term scarring effects on their wellbeing, health and earning prospects.’
Jon Sparkes, chief executive of learning disability charity Mencap, welcomed the direction of travel but warned against complacency. ‘Today’s welcome figures are a reminder that young people are not work-shy, but it is too often the systems around them that are failing to meet their ambitions,’ he said. Sparkes pointed to what he described as ‘inaccessible recruitment, a postcode lottery of employment support, and employers lacking confidence’ as barriers that have not eased. He also noted that only around one in four adults with a learning disability has a paid job, despite the vast majority saying they want to work.
Sam Tims, lead analyst at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, placed the figures in a wider economic context. ‘Nearly a million young people not earning or learning is the result of an economy that leaves young people behind, creates too few opportunities, and particularly fails those growing up in poverty,’ he said. Tims added that growing up in persistent poverty more than triples the risk of being out of work or learning, and that inadequate income also prevents people from moving back into learning or earning.
The NEET young people picture without urgent action
The scale of the challenge becomes clearer when projections are considered. According to Mental Health UK, the Milburn Review warns that without urgent action, the proportion of young people who are NEET could rise from one in eight to one in six within five years, representing 1.25 million young lives. Mental Health UK also reports that 84 per cent of NEET young people say they want a job or training, a figure that sits at the heart of arguments that the barriers are systemic rather than a matter of personal motivation.
That systemic dimension also appears in parliamentary scrutiny of existing support. A Parliament UK select committee report found that the Jobs Guarantee was not available to any of the 290,000 young people who are out of work on health and disability benefits, a gap that advocates argue leaves some of the most vulnerable young people without a route back into work or study.
What the Milburn Review is expected to address
A review by former government minister Alan Milburn on youth unemployment is described as forthcoming. Tims said it must be a ‘turning point’ for the support offered to young people. Milburn himself said: ‘Nearly one million young lives on hold is a scar on this country. Young people are desperate for an opportunity to learn or earn. Instead, we’re creating a lost generation. They want to work, they just need a chance.’ He said his review would set out how that can be achieved so that young people ‘get their futures back.’
The review arrives at a moment when the gap between ambition and opportunity is well documented. If the Milburn Review’s own projection holds, and the share of NEET young people rises to one in six within five years, the 981,000 figure reported this quarter will come to look like a relatively contained moment in a much larger crisis.
