According to a BBC article from February of this year, the number of young people unemployed, not receiving education, or undertaking vocational training has reached an 11-year high.
Latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) indicate that between October and December of last year, as many as 987,000 16-24-year-olds were not currently in work, education, or training. This overall rise is significant, with an increase of 110,000 compared to the previous year. The total number of NEET young people equates to 13.4% or almost one out of every seven people in that age group.
Young men are disproportionately affected, with the ONS estimating that 14.4% of all males in this age category are NEET.
How is NEET different from unemployment?
Young people who are not currently employed can be categorised as ‘unemployed’ if they are actively seeking employment. They can also be defined as ‘economically inactive,’ meaning they are not actively seeking work in any meaningful capacity.
According to the latest ONS statistics, most NEET young people fall into the economically inactive category, with 595,000 economically inactive young people, compared to 392,000 who would be considered unemployed. Of the unemployed, 64% were young men.
While the ONS figures should be treated with a degree of caution, as they have been labelled “official statistics in development”, they have nonetheless been met with concern by employment experts, including Youth Employment UK Chief Executive Laura-Jane Rawlings, who said that without “drastic change” the total [number of NEET young people] would surpass one million. She added that “young people who experience time NEET are at risk from significant scarring, both in terms of their health and wellbeing, but also in the economic opportunities they will have across their lives - the wider cost to the economy is significant.”
Exploring the effects
Multiple sources, including the research from the Department for Education, highlight poor mental health as a crucial interconnecting factor. In 2023, almost one in five (19.5%) young people had a mental health condition. The King’s Trust charity, established by King Charles III to help young people find jobs or start businesses, recently published its annual Youth Index 2025 survey results.
Most of the 4,285 16-25-year-olds across the UK surveyed in November and December felt anxious about their future on a daily basis.
And of the 460 who were NEET:
- Almost one out of every three (31%) said they would like to work, but poor mental health prevented it.
- 50% said being unemployed made them feel hopeless about the future.
- Almost one out of every five (19%) said they were applying for jobs every day without success.
- 22% said that having a stable job is one of their biggest goals in life.
- NEET young people were identified as having the lowest happiness and overall well-being compared to any other group.
Possible solutions
Multifaceted problems will seldom be solved with low-resolution solutions. Being “NEET isn’t just a statistic; it’s a complex problem with far-reaching consequences for both individuals and society. They range from economic challenges, mental health struggles, and lack of access to quality education or job opportunities, to regional disparities,” notes Laura-Jane Rawlings.
The Labour government has announced plans for a “Youth Guarantee” to provide access to education or training to help young people find jobs. However, the director of the Work Foundation at Lancaster University, Ben Harrison, commented that almost half of the country’s NEETs risked missing out on the government guarantee. “The government should consider expanding these initiatives,” he said.
According to the Youth Index 2025 survey results, NEET young people report that CV writing and interview help, confidence building, and work experience opportunities are the support most needed to get into work.
Inevitably, a solution will be achieved through a combination of high-quality work experience, reliable career advice, trialling the development of transition plans between education and employment, further investment in early career hiring, greater emphasis on readiness in higher education for the world of work, the expansion of vocational/trade skill options and challenge to the prevailing notion that university is the only route to success, as well as government-backed relief for employers to reduce the perceived risk of hiring early career professionals.
Simon Davies | Founder, Mereo Talent