The Latest NEET Statistics – Sector Response

Headline facts and figures – 2022

• The overall 16-18 not in education, employment or training (NEET) rate increased in 2022 by 1.3 percentage points to 8.4%, the highest rate since 2012. Lowest recorded was 5.8% end 2016.

• This was driven by an increase at age 18, where in 2022 15.9% were NEET, the highest rate since 2009.  The 6.1 percentage point increase in age 18 NEET comes after a low in 2021 driven by a high proportion found in employment.

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Sector Response

Teach First CEO Russell Hobby said:

from Teach First CEO Russell Hobby on the latest NEET statistics for 16- to 18-year-olds which were released this morning. The headline is that overall, 16–18-year-olds not in education, employment or training increased by 1.3 percentage points to 8.4%, the highest rate since 2012.

“This sharp rise in the number of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET), reaching its highest rate in ten years, risks disaster for our country. Those who are NEET are often from communities experiencing poverty, and with their life chances and our country’s future at stake, politicians, employers and all of society must make addressing this injustice a national priority.

“Good grades are often the passport to the first step on the career ladder, but with more than half of young people growing up in poverty missing out on minimum grades to get into jobs, their chances are diminished before they even start.

“Great teachers are changing this fate every day, so we’re calling for pay premiums for people teaching in disadvantaged communities to drive recruitment and retention, to recognise the invaluable work these teachers do and to give their profession the status it deserves.”