Number of young people out of work or education edges closer to one million

The number of young people who are not in education, work, or training (NEET) has risen, edging closer to one million.

According to official statistics, there were 957,000 people aged 16 to 24 in the United Kingdom from October to December 2025, or 12.8% of that age group.

The UK is experiencing a low jobs market, with young people particularly affected by cuts in hospitality and graduate programmes.

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the figures show a slight increase from the previous year, with more young people looking for jobs in the last three months of 2025.

However, they are slightly lower - 0. This year, the number has risen by 4% compared to the same time last year.

According to the ONS, the rise in NEETs was fuelled by a growing number of young women who are out of work.

Some 12. At the end of 2025, 2% of young women were NEET, which is higher than the previous quarter. However, the number of young male NEETs decreased marginally in the same period.

If you're looking for work or financially inactive (not actively looking for jobs and not waiting to start a new one or caring for a family), a young person is considered NEET.

By 12, the number of unemployed NEETs in the United States jumped by 12. The number of economically inactive NEETs decreased by 3% from the previous year, though the number of physically inactive Neots dropped 6.6%.

Neet is not considered to be Neep by someone in formal education, such as school or university, teaching an apprenticeship or vocational course.

The issue of young Neets, according to Pat McFadden, the Work and Pensions Secretary, was "a long-term challenge.

Backing businesses to recruit young people by apprenticeships, he said.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves revealed last year that young people who have been out of work or education for 18 months will be given a guaranteed paid work placement.

Many who decline to accept the offer may be fined of their health care.

The rise of young people not working or studying is under scrutiny by an independent inquiry, whose findings are due to be announced in the summer.

Alan Milburn, the Labour Health Secretary, said he would approach the issue with sensitivity and reveal any gaps in job support, education, skills, health, and welfare.

In July to September 2011, the most popular quarterly Neets total was recorded, with the number topped at over a million following the 2008 financial crisis.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves should make an exception to her'police-free' Spring Statement, according to the Resolution Foundation, and she should increase support for youth unemployment.

The UK is fully close to seeing a million young Neets, according to Louise Murphy, senior economist at the think tank.

"Today's results add to the picture of a generation facing real and complex challenges to finding a career and raising their living conditions.

"But acting sooner rather than later can help avoid these troubling trends from escalating into an established crisis.

Some employers are saying that it will cost the government scheme to scrap the lower minimum wage for 16 and 17 years olds, which is why she is being asked to suspend a government scheme because it will make it too costly to recruit young people.

Ministers are keen on delaying the rise, according to government sources, although they are unlikely to abandon the pledge completely.

The breadth of the challenge facing young people and the government,

Ben Harrison, Director of Lancaster University's Work Foundation, said.

According to Mr. Jones, the number of young Neets has remained "stubbornly close to one million.

"There is a significant chance that more young people will slip into long-term unemployment unless the government takes action to fix the causes of this rise.

According to ONS results, NEET figures are volatile due to a smaller population compared to unemployment figures.

The ONS has been chastised recently for the quality of its reports, particularly the Labour Force Survey, which is used to compile Neet estimates.

According to the body, it is making updates to the Labour Force Survey, which includes more interviewers to raise the response rate.