Rise in number of ‘Neet’ youths

24 August 2011 Last updated at 08:29 ET

th unemployment also rose in the second quarter of this year

The proportion of 18 to 24-year-olds in England not in employment, education or training (Neet) has risen to 18.4%, official figures suggest.

The figure from the Department for Education is the highest for the second quarter since 2006, and is up from 16.3% last year.

Nearly a million (979,000) 16 to 24-year-olds were Neet between April and June this year, the figures show.

The government said it was boosting apprenticeships and 16 to 18 education.

Neets figures fluctuate during the academic year, peaking in the third quarter as school, college and university courses end.

But this year’s 18 to 24 figures are the highest for the second quarter since comparable data was first published in 2006; the previous was 17.6% in 2008.

The figure is even higher for 19 to 24-year-olds, with 19.1% considered Neet.

The data is published for England only by the Department for Education, derived from the quarterly Labour Force Survey.

The proportion of ng people in England aged 16 to 18 who are considered Neet has continued to fall, however, amid a government drive to encourage more ng people to stay on in education or training.

‘Brutal impact’

It dropped to 9.8% in the quarter to June, down from 10.2% at the same point in 2010, and 11.9% the previous year.

The figures come as record numbers – an estimated 220,000 – are expected to fail to get UK university places.

And last week, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that th unemployment in the UK – the proportion of 16 to 24-year-olds not in work – had also risen, from 20% to 20.2% in the quarter to June.

The Prince’s Trust th charity said it was “deeply concerned” that the Neets figures were rising again.

“We know that unemployment can have a brutal impact on ng people, with thousands suffering from mental health problems, feelings of self-loathing and panic attacks,” a spokesman said.

A government spokesman said the number of ng people not in education, employment or training “has been too high for too long”.

Adult apprenticeships

The fall in the number of 16 to 18-year-old Neets was an encouraging sign, and the government would set out a strategy for post-16 participation in education later this year, the spokesman said.

The government will have supported 250,000 more adult apprenticeship places than under Labour’s plans and has launched a Work Programme offering personalised support and training to help unemployed ng people, the spokesman added.

But critics point out that the government has cut back services such as the Connexions careers service network, the Future Jobs Fund – which created jobs for workless 18 to 24-year-olds – and the Aim Higher programme’s work to encourage disadvantaged ng people into higher education.

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