Neets: One in eight younger individuals not in work or training
Schooling producer
BBC / Kate McGough“I’ve utilized for factories, care work, hospital work – something to only get a job to assist me and my son,” says 20-year-old mum Libby.
She says she’s despatched tons of of job purposes to employers in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, with no success.
“I’ve walked across the outlets, gone into companies giving out my CV,” she tells the BBC.
“Everyday it’s miserable, since you do not hear something again, you are continuously looking for a job, making an attempt to combat for a job, and also you hear nothing.”
She is certainly one of 923,000 16-24-year-olds estimated to have been not in training, employment or coaching – Neet – within the first three months of 2025, based on new figures from the Workplace for Nationwide Statistics (ONS).
That equates to roughly one in eight individuals aged 16 to 24.
Though Friday’s Neets figures present a slight lower on the identical interval final 12 months, Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall says “there are nonetheless almost one million younger individuals locked out of the system and being written off”.
The ONS publishes estimates on Neets each three months, with February’s figures – masking October to December – displaying an 11-year excessive of 987,000.
Libby is now doing a primary assist course at an area charity centre, having been referred there by a job centre, with the intention of pursuing her dream of operating her personal canine grooming enterprise.
However Grimsby has decrease charges of employment for all adults than the nationwide common, making it tougher for younger individuals there to search out work.
BBC / Kate McGough‘I am not asking to be Prime Minister’
Curtis, 22, is doing the identical first assist course as Libby. He’s on Common Credit score whereas on the lookout for work and says he has additionally utilized for tons of of jobs.
“I do not need to be unemployed,” he says.
“I am sick of feeling like I’ve an absence of goal. I need to work on a forklift or work in a store doing customer support. It is not like I am asking to be Prime Minister.”
The ONS produces its estimates from its Labour Power Survey. The survey has seen fewer individuals reply lately, which makes the outcomes extra unstable than they had been beforehand.
The vast majority of younger people who find themselves Neet within the newest figures are economically inactive (569,000), that means they aren’t actively in search of work, in comparison with 354,000 who’re unemployed however actively on the lookout for jobs.
The variety of economically inactive younger individuals is down 29,000 on the identical interval final 12 months, however the variety of unemployed individuals on the lookout for work has elevated by 21,000.
An increase in long-term illness amongst younger individuals has been one of many major causes of financial inactivity over the previous three years, based on evaluation of earlier ONS stats by the Youth Futures Basis.
And in 2023, virtually one out of each 5 younger individuals who had been Neet (19.5%) had a psychological well being situation, based on the newest yearly Division for Schooling figures.
One space experiencing these points is Cornwall, the place seasonal work, unaffordable housing and an absence of accessible psychological well being assist are all hurdles for younger individuals to find work.
Tegan, from Newquay, has been economically inactive for a while after she by no means handed her maths and English GCSEs, having struggled for years along with her psychological well being.
“It is meant that I have been left on this actually fairly massive void of probably not figuring out find out how to get again into life, find out how to get again into training,” the 23-year-old says.
BBC / Dan Nelson“It is actually tough once you’re making an attempt to get better and get your self again on observe, and in addition to doing that you must combat your means by means of a system that is not all that supportive.”
She is now being supported by a psychological well being charity providing care locally, and plans to go to school and move these GCSEs.
Even for individuals who have been to school, although, there isn’t a assure of a job. Graduates make up 10.6% of Friday’s Neet figures, equal to about 90,000 younger individuals, based on evaluation by the Youth Futures Basis.
Inaz Hussain, who lives in Bristol, graduated in 2022 with a level in movie manufacturing however has been unemployed for six months, regardless of beforehand getting just a few short-term contracts and internships.
He’s now making use of for jobs in advertising, communications, retail and hospitality.
“Sure I received a level, however what can I present for it?” he says.
BBC / Elaine Dunkley“I’ve misplaced observe of what number of jobs I’ve utilized to.”
He thinks older generations should be extra understanding of the difficulties younger individuals face to find a job.
“We simply hear that we’re lazy, we’re not resilient,” he says. “I have been making an attempt to do the proper factor and it’s kind of of a kick within the enamel.”
Kendall argues that the lower of 64,000 Neets for the reason that finish of 2024 represents “progress”, however she is “decided to vary” the general quantity, which stays excessive.
She says the federal government is investing £45m in a youth assure “to present each younger individual the prospect to get on in life”.
The trickier problem will probably be tackling the variety of younger people who find themselves not on the lookout for work in any respect, a posh concern involving many components.
