CYP Now - The moral and economic imperatives for tackling NEET rises

The ONS data released on 27 February revealed the number of young people not earning or learning continues to rise in the UK, with almost a million young people not in education, employment or training.

Barry Fletcher is chief executive of Youth Futures Foundation, the national what works centre for youth employment

This figure of 987,000 is equivalent to one in eight young people, a rise of over 100,000 in one year, and over 250,000 more young people than three years ago when we were emerging from the pandemic. What’s more, the data revealed that since 2021, NEET rates have risen consistently, with both unemployment and economic inactivity as the driving forces. This contrasts with the post-2008 trend in which unemployment increased dramatically while economic inactivity remained stable. The data also reveals half of the increase in economic inactivity over the past three years is due to ill health, with mental health being one of the most common health conditions driving this.

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