Proportion of NEET young people falls below pre-pandemic levels
Fiona Simpson
Thursday, March 3, 2022
The percentage of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) has fallen below pre-pandemic levels, new figures show.
Some 10.3 per cent of all 16- to 24-year-olds were NEET between October and December last year, figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and Department for Education show.
In the same period in 2020, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, 11.8 per cent of 16- to 24-year-olds were NEET compared with 11.3 per cent between October and December 2019.
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Young people aged 16 to 18 saw the biggest drop with 4.7 per cent of this age group classed as NEET in the final quarter of last year compared with six per cent a year earlier and 7.5 per cent in 2019.
Among 18- to 24-year-olds 12.6 per cent of the population was classed as NEET in the final quarter of 2021 compared with 14.2 per cent in 2020 and 13 per cent in 2019.
The report highlights a regional disparity in the proportion of NEET young people, with the North East worst affected.
Between October and December 2021, 11.7 per cent of all 16- to 24-year-olds in the North East were NEET compared with 9.6 per cent in the South East.
The most recent figures show “no statistically significant changes in the NEET rate for the regional data” compared with previous years, according to DfE.
The report comes just weeks after the government pledged to create equal opportunities for young people across the country with the publication of its Levelling Up white paper.
Research from the Prince’s Trust, published last month, found that levels of unhappiness and anxiety among young people was highest among those who are NEET and those from disadvantaged areas, including the North East.
The latest DfE and ONS statistics reveal that the number of NEET young people with a mental health condition has tripled over the last decade from 7.7 per cent in 2012 to 21.3 per cent in 2021.
Prince’s Trust chief executive Jonathan Townsend said: “This alarming downward spiral of anxiety, stress and lack of confidence for the future will impact young people today and in future generations, while widening the gap for the most disadvantaged.
“With the right support from businesses, government and charities we can turn this around and ensure young people have the right skills and confidence to feel positive about their future work, and about their life overall.”