Official statistics released on Thursday show the number of young people who are Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) remains stubbornly high at 957,000. The overall number of ‘NEET’ young people has remained above 900,000 (around one in eight young people) since Jan-March 2024, peaking at 971,000 in Oct-Dec 2024.

Yet beneath the headline numbers, the data reveals a shift in the underlying trends that are keeping young people out of the workforce. Government interventions which are slowly rolling out over the next year may now be critical to address a generational crisis.

Figure 1: Signals suggest that high levels of NEET young people is a persistent issue

Rate of people aged 16-24 who are NEET, Jan-Mar 2019 – Sep-Dec 2025. Source: Not in Education, Employment or Training ('NEET') by age: People (seasonally adjusted)

NEET data over the last few years suggests the challenge is less cyclical and more structural than what occurred post-financial crisis. In 2025, around three-fifths of young people not earning or learning were economically inactive, meaning they have not been seeking work within the last month or are unable to start work within the next two weeks. This is higher than between 2008-2013, where around a half of NEET young people were economically inactive.

Taking time out of work or training can be part of a good and healthy working life. For example, young people may need some time out of the labour market when managing a flare up in a health condition or waiting for the right opportunities. However, experiences of young people during other economic downturns suggest that negative early experiences of unemployment can create a ‘scarring’ effect which leads to worse outcomes for income and unemployment throughout a young person’s entire life.

Figure 2: Levels of unemployment and economic activity for young people aged 16-24 not in education, employment or training (thousands)

Number of people aged 16-24 who are unemployed (grey) and economically inactive (red), Jan-Mar 2019 – Sep-Dec 2025. Source: Not in Education, Employment or Training ('NEET') by age: People (seasonally adjusted)

The reasons for young people being inactive have also changed, suggesting long-term issues in the labour market rather than a short-term blip. Research by the Resolution Foundation shows that young people who are economically inactive today are much more likely to be so due to sickness or disability, reaching over a quarter (28%) of all NEETs in 2025. Also the number of young people who are inactive due to ‘other’ reasons than sickness or caring responsibilities is rising, such as those who do not want employment.

A rise in youth unemployment sounds bad, but it’s complicated

Given this background, the latest data released today could be positive news. The number of young people in Oct-Dec 2025 who are economically inactive has fallen by around 34,000 on the quarter, almost entirely driven by young men.

This means more young people are actively seeking to participate in the workforce. However, this shift has come as the UK labour market has weakened – data released last week showed the number of vacancies has fallen and unemployment across the economy has increased to 5.2%. Accordingly, the data suggests more young people are interested in participating in the workforce but are now struggling to find work, with a 16-24 unemployment rate of 16.1%.

The Youth Guarantee has the potential to be a key intervention, but only if done well

Last year the UK government began to implement an £820m funding package of programmes of support for 18-21 year olds into work through apprenticeships, training, jobs and employment support.

Several youth unemployment ‘trailblazers’ – pilot place-based support programmes – were launched across eight English regions in 2025 to identify programmes that can be scaled to support young people into work. Another key pilot programme is a ‘Youth Guarantee’ for 55,000 young people aged 18-21 who have spent at least 18 months on Universal Credit, guidance for which was published earlier in February.

For young people searching but struggling to find work, a guaranteed placement – a 25 hour weekly contract paid at least the rate of the National Minimum Wage and subsidised by Government – could be critical to break through into the job market.

Yet there are clear limitations. The offer of a six-month paid work placement is currently only available to 18-21 year olds – meaning many young NEETs may miss out compared to if eligibility was widened to 16-24 year olds. And as it stands, the Youth Guarantee will only kick in after a young person has been out of work for 18 months, despite evidence clearly indicating that the longer someone is out of the labour market, the harder it can be to support them into sustained employment.”

Recent announcements in Parliament and the media that employers such as KFC and JD Sports may participate in the Job Guarantee suggest the Government risks taking a stance of “any job is better than no job”. Work Foundation research shows that insecure work can ‘trap’ young people in low-paid roles with no progression, as well as carrying higher health risks that could push young people back into economic inactivity.

The current generation of young people are facing a particularly tough start to their working lives, navigating both disruption from the COVID pandemic and a difficult jobs market. Government intervention should be focused on giving these young people the best start to their working lives. Rather than just focussing on numbers, the success of Government intervention should be based on supporting young people into healthy and secure jobs that can reverse any ‘scarring’ effects from long-term unemployment.

Watch our latest Work Matters 2026 event on No NEET solution? Tackling youth unemployment in the UK

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