The figures from the Department for Education show that 1,163,000 16- to 24-year-olds – or 19 per cent of the age group – were Neet in the third quarter of 2011. This is up from 1,026,000 in the same quarter last year, or 17 per cent of the cohort.
Shaks Ghosh, chief executive of the Private Equity Foundation, said the "shocking statistics" reinforce concerns sparked by the recent youth unemployment figures, which showed that more than one million young people are out of work.
"Earlier this month, together with the Work Foundation, we uncovered city black spots where an overwhelming one in four young people are Neet," she said. "But although the government must react now to save this current cohort of Neets, that alone won’t be enough: the next generation is already waiting in the wings. We can identify many who are at risk of becoming Neet long before they leave school."
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