The scale of young people not in education, employment or training is a “scar on this country”, an expert has said despite new figures showing the number of Neets has fallen by 30,000.
The latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) data shows the proportion of all young people in the UK who were Neet in April to June 2026 was 13.0 per cent – 0.5 per cent less than from January to March 2026.
Though the figures have fallen from more than a million earlier this year, 981,000 young people remain out of education, employment or training, and the figures are still 30,000 higher than a year ago.
The Institute For Public Policy Research said the figures confirm that “too many young people are still struggling to get a first foothold in work”, while author of the government’s report into young people and work Alan Milburn described it as “a scar on this country”.
The government is under significant pressure to solve the country’s growing Neet crisis, which refers to the number of 16- to 24-year-olds not in education, employment, or training.
Work and pensions secretary Pat McFadden said the government is “determined to turn the tide on the youth unemployment crisis”, which he said has been “years in the making”.
open image in gallery“These latest figures underline why we are addressing youth inactivity as a priority,” he said.
“The Jobs Guarantee is already supporting those most in need with the first young people to be supported by the scheme now in work, and our wider £2.5 billion investment will help create almost a million opportunities to earn or learn. Further reform will follow the Milburn Review, which will report shortly.”
The new figures come ahead of expected recommendations for fundamental reform in former Labour cabinet minister Alan Milburn’s final report into young people and work, which is due to be published in the autumn.
In May, his review found the youth unemployment crisis is costing Britain £125bn a year, which is more than the country spends on education and almost double the defence budget.
Responding to today’s figures, Mr Milburn 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.
“My review will set out how that can be achieved so that young people get their futures back.”
Mr Milburn warned that without urgent action, the number of young people who are Neet will rise by 2031 from one in eight to one in six, affecting 1.25 million young people.
open image in galleryLaunching his interim report, Mr Milburn said the characterisation of young people as not trying is “a myth”, adding: “The story of not trying, being soft, being a snowflake generation – I just don’t buy it.”
Instead, he said, the issue is that the system is “no longer working”: “The problem is that for too many young people, opportunities are not growing – they’re shrinking.”
The Institute For Public Policy Research said the figures confirm that “too many young people are still struggling to get a first foothold in work”.
“The answer isn’t simply to tell young people to try harder,” Henry Parkes, principal economist at IPPR, said.
“Where you live can make a huge difference to your chances, and in too many parts of the country there simply aren’t enough suitable first jobs to go around.
“The Milburn Review should match support with opportunity: creating thousands of paid first jobs where they are needed most, opening up more apprenticeships and giving young people proper, personalised support.
“Every young person should have a clear route into work and adulthood, wherever they grow up.”
Lindsay Judge, research director at the Resolution Foundation, said the figures are a “worrying sign that Britain’s NEET crisis is a long way from easing”, as she warned “good intentions and warm words” will not solve the crisis.
“Reversing this trend in the long-term will take serious investment – on a similar scale that lower-NEET countries devote to supporting young people into work or training – and a joined-up effort from the level of Whitehall departments to local services,” she said.
“Without that, we risk our younger generation paying the price for a system that is failing to support them through the transition to adulthood.”
The government has previously said it wants to see “the potential of young people up and down this country fully realised, whether that be through education, training or work” and cited a £2.5 billion youth employment support package which includes a new apprenticeship bursary for families on universal credit.
open image in galleryONS data for Neets begins in 2001 and shows the total peaked at 1.25 million in July-September 2011, or around one in six (16.9 per cent) of all 16-24 year-olds.
This peak came in the aftermath of the 2008-09 financial crash and recession.
After 2011 the number started to fall, returning to pre-recession levels by 2014 and reaching 750,000 in October-December 2019.
This decline came to a halt in 2020 and 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic, when the number of Neets fluctuated around 700,000 to 800,000 and showed no clear trend up or down.
The figure then started to climb steadily in early 2022, coinciding with the end of the pandemic and the start of the cost-of-living crisis and a sharp rise in inflation.
It had reached around one in eight (12.9 per cent) by January-March 2024 and stood at nearly one in seven (13.5 per cent) in January-March 2026.