UK youth not in work, education or training falls below 1 million

London, United Kingdom. The number of young people not in employment, education or training fell below 1 million in the second quarter of 2026, following its highest level since 2013 in the first three months of the year.

The Office for National Statistics recorded 981,000 people aged 16 to 24 as NEET between April and June, equivalent to 13.0 per cent of the age group.

Latest figures

The total was down from 1.011 million, or 13.5 per cent of the age group, in the first quarter. However, the number of NEETs was 30,000 higher than a year earlier.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the proportion of 16-to-24-year-olds outside employment and education has risen to one of the highest levels in Europe.

Government response

Work and pensions minister Pat McFadden said the figures underlined why the government was treating youth inactivity as a priority, highlighting new work experience placements for long-term unemployed people.

The government has previously indicated it may limit increases to the minimum wage for workers aged 18 to 20.

Warnings and hiring conditions

A report published in May by former minister Alan Milburn warned of a potential “lost generation” of NEETs, who could account for one in six people in the age group within five years.

The report said the welfare system was “exacerbating inactivity” and cited a sharp decline in low- and medium-skilled entry-level roles, including part-time Saturday jobs for schoolchildren, despite broader labour-market strength for much of the past decade.

A Lancaster University Work Foundation survey published earlier this week found that almost half of medium-sized and larger companies had fewer vacancies for young people than a year earlier, partly because of wider use of artificial intelligence and automation.

The Confederation of British Industry said higher employment taxes had reduced employers’ overall willingness to hire, despite exemptions for some younger workers.