Neet figures show year-on-year rise
Neil Puffett
Thursday, May 24, 2012
A total of 954,000 young people were not in work, education, or training in England in the first three months of this year, government figures show.
Although the figure represents a slight drop compared to the last three months of 2011 when the total was 958,000, it is the highest first quarter figure on record.
Last year, 925,000 16-to-24-year-olds were Neet in the first quarter, 29,000 less than this year. In the first quarter of 2008, there were 811,000 Neets in the age range.
The latest figures show that out of the total 16-to 24-year-old population in England, 15.8 per cent are now classed as Neet, a 0.5 percentage point increase on this time last year.
During the same period, the number of 16-to 18-year-old Neets increased by 24,000, from 159,000 to 183,000, and the proportion rose from 8.3 per cent to 9.8 per cent.
Shaks Ghosh, chief executive of the Private Equity Foundation, said: “Sadly there's no sign of respite from the difficult job market for our young people.
“We need to recognise the long-term structural issues at play if we are ever to resolve the problem.
“Our shift from a production to a service-driven economy has favoured soft skills, making it harder for young people to get their first foothold on the job ladder.”
A spokesman for the Department for Education said: “The number of young people not in education, employment or training has been too high for too long. We are driving up standards right across the schools system to bring the numbers down.
“We are investing almost £1bn in the Youth Contract to support 16-to 24-year-olds into education, training and work.
“We are creating the biggest apprenticeships programme our country has ever seen and have launched the National Careers Service to provide expert advice.
“We are also overhauling vocational education, so all employers can be confident about the skills of our young people and the rigour of our qualifications.”
