Number of young Britons out of work or training climbs above 1mn

{"text":[[{"start":9.15,"text":"The number of young people who are not in employment, education or training (Neet) in the UK has risen above 1mn, its highest level in 12 years, according to official data published hours before a government-commissioned report will warn of a “lost generation”."}],[{"start":24.4,"text":"The new data will fuel concerns about worsening job prospects for the under-25s. Just over 1mn people aged between 16 and 24 were classed as Neet in the first quarter, representing 13.5 per cent of all those in that age group, Office for National Statistics data showed on Thursday. "}],[{"start":43.2,"text":"The number was 89,000 higher when compared with the same period last year and up by 55,000 on the preceding quarter."}],[{"start":50.5,"text":"The figures come as an official review by former cabinet minister Alan Milburn is due to warn later on Thursday that the UK risks creating a “lost generation”, with the number of Neets projected to rise to 1.25mn — or one in six young people — within five years, unless ministers give employers stronger incentives to hire young workers and reform public services, including schools and the welfare system."}],[{"start":77.5,"text":"Elise Rohan, head of labour market output at the ONS, said the increase was “driven by greater numbers of young people no longer looking for work”."}],[{"start":87.1,"text":"The increase in the UK’s Neet rate contrasts with the EU, where the share of 15- to 24-year-old Neets fell to a record low of 9 per cent in 2025. Even countries that had posted Neet rates above 20 per cent over much of the past 15 years — including Greece, Spain and Italy — recorded historic lows last year: 9.4 per cent in Greece and Spain, and 9.9 per cent in Italy."}],[{"start":111.05,"text":"The UK Neet rate is still below its peak of 16.9 per cent reached in 2011, in the wake of the financial crisis. But the rate started rising again in 2021.   "}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":122.25,"text":"Jonathan Townsend, UK chief executive of The King’s Trust, a charity helping vulnerable young people, said: “When young people are out of work or education, it doesn’t just hold them back — it has consequences for all of society. It means lost talent for employers, greater pressure on public services, and weaker communities and local economies.” "}],[{"start":143.55,"text":"The precise figure is uncertain as the ONS warned of greater volatility in the data, particularly in 2023 and 2024, because of post-pandemic challenges with the labour market survey that underpins the data. As a result, the figures are labelled as “in development”."}],[{"start":162.55,"text":"The ONS said an estimated 14.4 per cent of young men, up by 1.2 percentage points on the year, and 12.5 per cent of young women, up by 0.8 percentage points on the year, were Neet in the first quarter."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":176.35000000000002,"text":"Susannah Hardyman, chief executive of Impetus, a UK funder that backs and scales charities focused on education and youth employment for disadvantaged young people, said: “Reaching more than one million young people who are neither earning nor learning is a national tragedy, and one that was not inevitable.”"}],[{"start":194.50000000000003,"text":"“Unless drastic action is taken, we are at risk of a whole generation being scarred by a lack of employment and education opportunities,” she added. "}],[{"start":203.15000000000003,"text":"The Milburn review will highlight that rising mental ill health and the decline of Saturday jobs mean that those aged between 16 and 24 are less ready for work than in the past."}],[{"start":213.65000000000003,"text":"The data comes against a backdrop of falling UK payroll employment and job vacancies at their lowest level in five years."}],[{"start":221.95000000000005,"text":"Unemployment data published by the ONS last week showed that the jobless rate among the 16- to 24-year-olds rose to 16.2 per cent in the three months to March, the highest since 2014. This is more than three times the overall unemployment of 5 per cent."}],[{"start":238.40000000000003,"text":"Lacklustre economic growth over the past years and the rise in minimum wages as well as the recent rise in employers’ national insurance contributions have been in part blamed for the weak job market. "}],[{"start":249.25000000000003,"text":"Speaking at Times Radio on Thursday, Milburn said: “Every employer that we spoke to raised these issues as real concerns . . . particularly in low-margin sectors of the economy, like retail and hospitality, there is no doubt that these changes have had an impact.”"}],[{"start":264.95000000000005,"text":"However, Milburn argued the problem was far deeper than recent government policies, saying that six in 10 Neets have now never worked and “it’s all moving in the wrong direction”. "}],[{"start":276.6,"text":"He told the BBC: “This is a problem in the labour market, in the welfare system, in the school system, in the skills system, and in the health system.”"}],[{"start":293.15000000000003,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1779966772_7487.mp3"}