The number of young people not in education, employment or training has edged closer to one million, underlining mounting pressure on Britain’s fragile labour market and intensifying calls for targeted intervention from ministers.
Official figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that an estimated 957,000 people aged 16 to 24 were classified as Neet between October and December 2025. That represents 12.8 per cent of the age group, a slight rise on the previous quarter and perilously close to the one-million mark last seen in the aftermath of the global financial crisis.
While the total is marginally lower, by 0.4 percentage points, than the same period a year earlier, the quarterly increase reflects persistent weakness in youth employment prospects, particularly as hiring in hospitality, retail and graduate schemes continues to contract.
The ONS said the latest uptick was driven primarily by a rise in the number of young women classified as Neet. At the end of 2025, 12.2 per cent of young women were not in work, education or training, up on the previous quarter. By contrast, the number of young men in the same category fell slightly.
A young person is considered Neet if they are unemployed and actively seeking work, or economically inactive, meaning they are not seeking work and are not enrolled in education or training. The data shows that the number of unemployed Neets rose 12.3 per cent quarter-on-quarter, while economically inactive Neets fell by 6.6 per cent, suggesting more young people are attempting to re-enter the labour market but struggling to secure roles.
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