What does Neet stand for and why does the UK have so many?

More than one million young people aged 16-24 were Neet between January and March 2026, the ONS says.The last time the number topped one million was July to September 2011, after the 2008 financial crisis.The latest figures account for 13.5% of all young people in the UK - one percentage point higher than in the same period in 2025.There were more Neets classed as not looking or available for work than there were hunting for jobs.The number of economically inactive young people was 613,000. This group includes 316,000 women and 297,000 men.The ONS estimates that 400,000 16- to 24-year-olds were unemployed and looking for work. There were more unemployed young men than young women - 257,000 compared with 143,000.An estimated one in 10 young people who are Neet are graduates. However, those who have not achieved GCSE-level qualification are more likely to remain Neet for longer periods, according to the Youth Futures Foundation, an organisation which aims to ensure young people can find work.It said those living in poverty, or with special educational needs, are also more likely to be Neet. A major independent review of the reasons so many young people are not in education, work or training was released by former Health Secretary Alan Milburn in May. He was asked to look into the issue by the government.Milburn challenged the idea that young people were not trying, or were "work-shy, snowflakes, soft".A survey carried out for his interim report suggested that 84% of Neet young people do want a job or training.He said rejections for young jobseekers, after submitting dozens, sometimes hundreds of applications, had become the norm.The report said there is not one factor causing the crisis, with a "perfect storm" of the jobs market, spending on education and the Covid pandemic being some of the reasons highlighted. It said the number of entry-level jobs has fallen by about 1.6 million over the past 20 years. Vacancies in hospitality, for example, have halved in the last four years alone. Apprenticeships and graduate jobs have also been affected.Health issues are also a factor. The proportion of people who say they are Neet because of a work-limiting health condition has increased by 70% over the past decade, according to the Health Foundation charity.The number of those citing a mental health condition has almost doubled to more than four in 10, according to the Youth Futures Foundation.Milburn described the situation for young people with disabilities as "devastating". In 2024-2025, 29.6% of disabled young people were Neet, compared with 8.7% of their non-disabled peers, his report said.The second part of Milburn's report, containing recommendations, will be unveiled later in 2026.Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden welcomed Milburn's report and said the government was already taking action.In her Budget speech in November 2025, the former chancellor Rachel Reeves promised £820m over three years to provide anyone aged 18 to 21 in England with access to an apprenticeship, training, education opportunities or help to find a job.She said those who have been Neet for more than 18 months will be given a six-month paid work placement, to help them prepare for a full-time job.Anyone who refuses to take up the offer could be stripped of their benefits.Reeves also said the government would fund a scheme to make apprenticeship training for under-25s at small and medium businesses "completely free".However, speaking after the release of Milburn's report, shadow work and pensions secretary Helen Whately criticised the government's policies, claiming Labour had "made it harder for a young person to take their first step into work".Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Daisy Cooper said her party "repeatedly warned that Labour's jobs tax would hammer job opportunities for young people and that their business rates hikes would kill off high street job opportunities".The government has also announced a new bursary of up to £4,500 for some families who would lose out on money if their children wanted to do an apprenticeship, because the child benefit they would lose out on would be worth more than the apprenticeship starter salary."By providing bursaries to those who need them most and fully funding apprenticeship training, we are making sure cost is not the reason someone misses out," McFadden said.