The Work Foundation at Lancaster University responded to the latest figures on young people not in education, employment or training (February 2025) released by the Office for National Statistics. Ben Harrison, Director of the Work Foundation at Lancaster University, commented on the figures that showed 987,000 young people who were NEET in total:

“Today’s data shows that young people not in education, employment or training is at the highest level for 10 years, which could be cause for concern for the Government’s plan to boost employment levels.

“With falling vacancies and a sluggish labour market, estimates appear to show that young people are being hit hardest as a further 110,000 young people are not in education, employment or training compared to a year ago.

"Contrary to recent commentary, the figures suggest large numbers of young people are actively looking for work but struggling to find it as 392,000 young people are unemployed – and 64% are young men. However, when they do enter employment, Work Foundation analysis shows that young people are twice as likely to end up in severely insecure jobs as older workers – with potential implications for their future earnings, health and wellbeing.

“This data underlines the urgency of the Government’s ambitions outlines in the Get Britain Working White Paper. Today’s figures appear to show that nearly half of NEETs are 22-24 years olds and risk missing out on initiatives such as the Youth Guarantee which as it stands will be available to 18-21 year olds. The Government should consider expanding these initiatives to allow the largest number of young people to benefit from help to get back into training or employment in the years ahead.”