Facts & Figures

Information about NEET

NEET: Young People Not in Education, Employment or Training

Published 21 May 2015

943,000 people aged 16-24 were NEET in the first quarter of 2015, 13.0% of people in this age group. Schemes introduced by the previous Government with elements aimed at reducing the number of young people who are NEET included: raising the participation age, the Youth Contract and the Work Programme.

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943,000 people aged 16-24 were NEET in the first quarter of 2015, 13.0% of people in this age group.

Not all unemployed 16-24 year olds are NEET and not all people who are NEET are unemployed. 59% of unemployed 16-24 year olds are NEET, the remaining 41% are in education or training. 46% of people who are NEET are unemployed, the rest are economically inactive: not seeking work and/or not available to start work.

In England, the regions with the highest proportion of 16-24 year olds who are NEET are the North East, Yorkshire & Humber, and West Midlands.

The proportion of 15-19 year olds and 20-24 year olds who are NEET in the UK is above the OECD average.

Those eligible for free school meals, those who have been excluded or suspended from school, those with their own child and those who have a disability are more likely to be NEET.

Schemes introduced by the previous Government with elements aimed at reducing the number of young people who are NEET included: raising the participation age, the Youth Contract and the Work Programme.

Young People not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET), November 2014  

Released: 20 November 2014 Next edition: 26 February 2015

• There were 954,000 young people (aged from 16 to 24) in the UK who were Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET), a decrease of 12,000 from April to June 2014 and down 142,000 from a year earlier.
• The percentage of all young people in the UK who were NEET was 13.1%, down 0.1 percentage points from April to June 2014 and down 1.9 percentage points from a year earlier.
• Just under half (47%) of all young people in the UK who were NEET were looking for work and available for work and therefore classified as unemployed. The remainder were either not looking for work and/or not available for work and therefore classified as economically inactive.

Funding sources for Neet activities