BRIEFING PAPER
Number SN 06705, 6 April 2016
NEET: Young People Not
in Education,
Employment or Training
By Jennifer Brown
Contents:
1. UK NEET Statistics
2. International NEET Statistics
3. Characteristics of people who
are NEET
4. Policies to reduce the number
of people who are NEET
5. Further Reading
% of young people who are NEET: UK, 2002-2016
Seasonally adjusted
20%
aged 18-24
15%
aged 16-24
10%
aged 16-17
5%
0%
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
NEET 16-24 year olds by economic activity: UK, 20022016
Seasonally adjusted: Thousands
800
Inactive NEET
600
400
Unemployed NEET
200
0
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
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2
NEET: Young People Not in Education, Employment or Training
Contents
Summary
3
1.
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.5
UK NEET Statistics
Age and Educational Status of people who are NEET
NEET unemployment and inactivity
Gender
NEET by Region
NEET data sources
4
4
5
5
7
7
2.
International NEET Statistics
8
3.
3.1
3.2
3.3
Characteristics of people who are NEET
Key characteristics from the Labour Force Survey
The Longitudinal Study of Young People in England
Key characteristics
Characteristics of people who are long-term NEET
Audit Commission: Risk Factors in becoming NEET
9
9
10
10
10
11
4.
4.1
4.2
4.3
4.4
Policies to reduce the number of people who are NEET
Raising the Participation Age
Apprenticeships
Traineeships
Work Programme
12
12
12
12
12
5.
Further Reading
14
3
Commons Library Briefing, 6 April 2016
Summary
‘NEET’ stands for young people aged 16-24 Not in Education, Employment or Training
(NEET).
•
826,000 people aged 16-24 were NEET in the fourth quarter of 2016, representing
11.5% of the age group.
Not all unemployed 16-24 year-olds are NEET and not all people who are NEET are
unemployed:
•
•
60.6% of unemployed 16-24 year-olds were NEET in October- December 2016 and
the remaining 39.4% were in education or training.
41.7% of all people who were NEET were unemployed, while the rest were
economically inactive.
In England, the regions with the highest proportion of 16-24 year-olds who are NEET were
the North East (15.2%), Yorkshire and the Humber (13.1%) and the West Midlands
(12.5%).
The proportion of 15-19 year-olds who are NEET in the UK is above the OECD average,
but below average for 20-24 year olds.
4
NEET: Young People Not in Education, Employment or Training
1. UK NEET Statistics
826,000 people aged 16-24 were NEET in the fourth quarter of 2016 –
or 11.5% of all young people in the 16-24 age group. This was down
31,000 on the previous quarter and down 36,000 on the year before. 1
1.1 Age and Educational Status of people
who are NEET
In October- December 2016, 767,000 18-24 year-olds were NEET down
33,000 on the previous quarter. This compares to 60,000 people aged
16-17 year old and NEET – up slightly on the previous quarter and up
11,000 on the previous year.
% of young people who are NEET: UK, 2002-2016
Seasonally adjusted
20%
aged 18-24
15%
aged 16-24
10%
aged 16-17
5%
0%
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
The number of 16-17 year-olds who are NEET has generally been
declining since the mid-2000s as more young people stayed in full-time
education. 88% of 16-17 year-olds were in full-time education in the
fourth quarter of 2016 compared to 73% in the fourth quarter of 2001.
There has also been an increase in participation in full-time education
among 18-24 year-olds over the past decade.
60%
Educational status of 18-24 year olds: UK, 2002-2016
Seasonally adjusted
Employment (not in full-time education)
50%
40%
In full-time education
30%
NEET
20%
10%
0%
2002
1
Other education/training
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
Data in this section are from ONS, Young People Not in Education, Employment or
Training (NEET), February 2016, and ONS, Labour Market Statistics, March 2016, and
are seasonally adjusted, unless otherwise stated.
5
NEET: Young People Not in Education, Employment or Training
1.2 NEET unemployment and inactivity
Not all unemployed young people are NEET. Out of 568,000
unemployed 16-24 year-olds in October- December 2016;
•
•
•
199,000 were in full-time education
25,000 were in some other form of education or training
344,000 (60.6%) were NEET
Similarly, under half (41.7%) of young people who were NEET
(826,000) were unemployed (344,000).
The remaining 482,000 were economically inactive – not working, not
seeking work and/or not available to start work.
NEET 16-24 year olds by economic activity: UK, 20022016
Seasonally adjusted: Thousands
800
Inactive NEET
600
400
Unemployed NEET
200
0
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
1.3 Gender
Women made up 49.3% of 16-24 year-olds classified as NEET, in the
fourth quarter of 2016. This is the lowest proportion since comparable
records began in October-December 2001. The two most recent
quarters are the first in which men who are NEET have outnumbered
women. This is because the number of economically inactive women
NEETs has been falling where as the number of economically inactive
men NEETs has been rising. Since Q4 in 2015 economically inactive
women NEETs have decreased by 10.9% whereas the number of
economically inactive men NEETs has risen by 9.8%.
6
NEET: Young People Not in Education, Employment or Training
Economically inactive 16-24 year old NEETs by gender 20012016
Seasonally adjusted: Thousands
450
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
2001
2003
2005
2007
2009
2011
2013
2015
407,000 women aged 16-24 were NEET compared to 419,000 men.
70.2% of women who were NEET were economically inactive compared
to 46.8% of men who were NEET.
Inactive and unemployed NEET by gender, Q4 2016
Thousands
450
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
419
407
196
Inactive
286
223
121
Men
Women
Unemployed
7
NEET: Young People Not in Education, Employment or Training
1.4 NEET by Region
The NEET Statistics Quarterly Brief contains regional NEET data covering
England.
16-24 year olds NEET by region, Q4 2016
Not seasonally adjusted
North East
15.2%
Yorks & Humber
13.1%
West Midlands
12.5%
London
11.8%
East Midlands
11.7%
North West
11.5%
England
11.3%
East of England
10.9%
South West
9.4%
South East
8.4%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
In October-December 2016, 11.3% of 16-24 year-olds in England were
NEET. Part of the difference between England and UK data is because
data for England is not seasonally adjusted.
The North East had the highest proportion of young people NEET
(15.2%) and the South East had the lowest (8.4%).
1.5 NEET data sources
The Office for National Statistics published harmonised estimates of the
number of Young People Not in Education, Employment or Training
(NEET) for the whole of the UK. Other NEET statistics for England,
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are non-comparable and should
be used only to look at each individually.
•
•
•
•
England: The NEET Statistics Quarterly Brief includes NEET
statistics based on Labour Force Survey data for England. The
Department for Education also provides data on 16-18 year-olds
NEET.
Wales: The Statistical First Release Young people not in
education, employment or training (NEET) is the definitive source
for NEET estimates in Wales.
Scotland: Scottish NEET estimates were published as part of the
Annual Local Area Labour Markets publication up until 2014. The
official measure of NEET in Scotland is based on those aged 16-19
and is now released through Skills Development Scotland
Participation Measure.
Northern Ireland: When given, Northern Ireland NEET figures are
based on the Labour Force Survey.
8
NEET: Young People Not in Education, Employment or Training
2. International NEET Statistics
The OECD publishes NEET data by age group – though these are not
directly comparable with UK national estimates. 2
The proportion of 15-29 year olds NEET in the UK (13.7%) is below the
OECD average (14.5%). However, the proportion for 15-19 year olds in
the UK (8.7%) was above the OECD average (6.3%).
% NEET by age group: 2015
Aged 15-19
Aged 20-24
Iceland
Netherlands
Switzerland
Luxembourg
Germany
Sweden
Norway
Japan*
Austria
Denmark
Australia
Czech Republic
Estonia
Latvia
Canada
New Zealand
UK
Belgium
Russia
Israel
Finland
United States
OECD
Slovenia
Portugal
Poland
Hungary
Ireland
France
Slovakia
Korea**
Chile**
Brazil*
Columbia
Mexico
Spain
Greece
Italy
Turkey
3.5
3.6
3.9
2.6
2.5
3.5
2.8
3.7
5.7
3.7
6.0
3.0
5.5
#N/A
6.7
7.1
8.7
4.3
#N/A
8.8
5.2
7.0
6.3
5.0
5.5
5.2
6.1
8.0
7.4
6.3
7.7
12.7
15.8
17.9
14.5
9.1
8.4
11.4
18.7
0
*
Data for 2014
**
Data for 2013
20
Aged 15-29
6.6
8.8
12.2
9.3
9.3
11.8
10.2
10.1
11.7
12.4
13.1
11.6
15.0
13.3
14.4
14.9
15.6
15.8
16.7
18.6
18.3
15.8
16.9
17.2
20.9
18.5
18.4
19.8
20.9
18.8
22.2
21.1
23.2
24.8
25.3
27.2
28.1
33.9
33.2
40
0
20
40
6.2
8.3
8.3
8.4
8.6
9.1
9.2
9.8
10.4
10.5
11.8
12.2
12.8
13.0
13.2
13.3
13.7
13.8
14.0
14.1
14.3
14.4
14.5
14.6
15.3
15.6
15.9
16.2
17.2
17.2
18.0
18.8
20.0
21.0
21.9
22.8
26.1
27.4
28.8
0
20
40
Source: OECD, Youth not in employment
2
OECD (2016), Youth not in employment, education or training (NEET) (indicator). doi:
10.1787/72d1033a-en (Accessed on 20 September 2016)
9
NEET: Young People Not in Education, Employment or Training
3. Characteristics of people who
are NEET
3.1 Key characteristics from the Labour Force
Survey
As shown in the chart below using data from the ONS Labour Force
Survey, over the four quarters to Q2 2016:
•
•
•
The proportion of 16-24 year olds who are NEET was higher for
those with disabilities (30%) than those without (9%).
A higher proportion of 16-24 year olds without any qualifications
are NEET (25%) than the proportion of those qualified to GCSE
level and above (10%).
By ethnicity, the proportion of 16-24 year olds NEET was highest
for those from Pakistani/Bangladeshi backgrounds (13%) and
lowest for those from Indian/Chinese/Other Asian backgrounds
(8%).
% of 16-24 year olds who are NEET
Q3 2015 - Q2 2016
Equality Act Disabled
30
Not Equality Act Disabled
9
No Qualifications
25
GCSE and Above
10
Pakistani/Bangladeshi
13
White
12
Black/African/Caribbean/Black British
11
Mixed/Multiple ethnic groups/other
11
Indian/Chinese/Other Asian
8
Overall
12
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Source: ONS Labour Force Survey microdata and House of Commons Library calculations
Notes: Disability is defined using the Government Statistical Service harmonised
standard definition. This covers people reporting (current) physical or mental
health conditions or illnesses lasting, or expected to last, 12 months or more,
which reduce their ability to carry out day-to-day activities. Those who gave no
response have been excluded from the analysis.
GCSE and above includes those with a highest qualification of GCSEs, A-Levels,
Higher Education or Degrees.
10 NEET: Young People Not in Education, Employment or Training
3.2 The Longitudinal Study of Young People
in England
Key characteristics
The Longitudinal Study of Young People in England 3 gives some more
detailed information on characteristics of young people who were NEET
and aged 19 in 2010. 4
•
•
•
•
•
Young people who have achieved five or more GCSEs grade A-C
are less likely to be NEET than those who have not.
Those eligible for free school meals are more likely to be NEET
than those not eligible.
Those who have been excluded or suspended from school are
more likely to be NEET than those who have not.
Those with their own child are more likely to be NEET than those
without.
Those who have a disability are more likely to be NEET than those
who do not.
Characteristics of people who are long-term NEET
The Longitudinal Study of Young People in England also gives
information on characteristics by the length of time for which somebody
is NEET. 14% of 19 year-olds in 2010 had been NEET for over a year at
some stage. 65% had never been NEET.
Over half of people age 19 in 2010 with their own child had been NEET
at some point. This also applied those who had ever been excluded or
suspended from school and those eligible for free school meals. It was
also the case that over half of those who have not achieved five or more
A*-C GCSEs had been NEET at some point. In all of these groups at
least a quarter experienced a period of over a year NEET.
48% of 19 year-olds with a disability had ever been NEET, with 24%
having been NEET for over a year at some stage.
3
4
Department for Education, Longitudinal Study of Young People in England, July 2011
Note that the ages in this note are ‘academic ages’, the age at the beginning of the
school year in which the survey interview took place – many of the people with academic
age of 19 will be 20 by the time of the interview.
11 NEET: Young People Not in Education, Employment or Training
3.3 Audit Commission: Risk Factors in
becoming NEET
The Audit Commission produced a report in July 2010, Against the
odds, which examined NEET characteristics, the geographic distribution
of NEET people and how government can work effectively to help
them. 5 Contained in this report is a table (below) which summarises the
increased likelihood of young people becoming NEET associated with
certain risk factors.
Increased chances of being NEET
Factor
Increase in chance of being NEET for
six months or more
Being NEET at least once before
Pregnancy or parenthood
Supervision by youth offending team
Fewer than three months post-16 education
Disclosed substance abuse
Responsibilities as a carer
7.9 times more likely
2.8 times more likely
2.6 times more likely
2.3 times more likely
2.1 times more likely
2.0 times more likely
Source: Audit Commission, analysis of Connexions data from fieldwork areas (approximately 24,00
people), 2010
5
Audit Commission, Against the odds, July 2010
12 NEET: Young People Not in Education, Employment or Training
4. Policies to reduce the number
of people who are NEET
Schemes introduced by the previous Government with elements aimed
at reducing the number of young people who are NEET are listed below.
4.1 Raising the Participation Age
The age to which all young people in England must continue in
education or training was increased. From summer 2014, pupils leaving
year 11 were required to continue to participate in education or training
until their 18th birthday. 6 Post-16 options include:
•
•
•
Full-time education (e.g. school, college or home education).
An apprenticeship or traineeship.
Part-time education or training if employed, self-employed or
volunteering full-time.
4.2 Apprenticeships
Apprenticeships are paid jobs that incorporate on and off the job
training. Successful apprentices receive a nationally recognised
qualification on completion of their contract. The Government pays a
proportion of the training costs for apprentices, depending on their age,
with remaining training costs normally covered by the employer.
Further information is available in the Commons Briefing Paper,
Apprenticeship Policy.
4.3 Traineeships
People aged under 24 who are unemployed and have little work
experience, but can be prepared for employment or an apprenticeship
within six months are able to start traineeships. Traineeships provide
education, training and work experience to young people to help them
get an apprenticeship or other job.
4.4 Work Programme
The Government’s main welfare-to-work scheme, the Work
Programme, offers support to various groups of long-term unemployed
people depending on their particular circumstances. Individuals are
referred on to the Work Programme from their local Jobcentre Plus after
they have been receiving JSA or ESA for a minimum amount of time.
Those aged 18-24 on JSA are referred to the programme after the 9month point of their claim. Some claimants who are NEET are referred
early to the Work Programme, after claiming for three months.
Further information is available in the Briefing Paper, Work Programme.
6
Gov.uk, Increasing opportunities for young people and helping them to achieve their
potential, 5 September 2014
13 NEET: Young People Not in Education, Employment or Training
A new welfare-to-work programme the Work and Health Programme is
due to be launched in autumn 2017. The Programme will target people
who with specialist support are likely to be able to find work within 12
months. It takes the place of both the Work Programme and Work
Choice (a voluntary support programme for people who are disabled),
although many jobseekers who would previously have been supported
by the Work Programme will now receive support directly through
Jobcentre Plus rather than the Work and Health Programme.
Further information is available in the Briefing Paper, Work and Health
Programme.
14 NEET: Young People Not in Education, Employment or Training
5. Further Reading
Further Commons Briefing Papers which may be of interest include:
•
•
•
•
•
Youth Unemployment Statistics
Work Programme
Apprenticeship Policy
Unemployment by Constituency
Youth Contract
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BRIEFING PAPER
Number SN 06705
6 April 2016
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