Surge in number of ‘Neet’ youths

24 August 2011 Last updated at 07:36 ET

th unemployment also rose in the second quarter of this year

The proportion of 18-24-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) 16-24-year-olds were Neet between April and June this year, according to the figures.

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

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

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

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

‘Encouraging sign’

The proportion of ng people in England aged 16-18 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.

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 16-24 year-olds not in work – had also risen, from 20% to 20.2% in the quarter to June.

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

The fall in the number of 16-18-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.

“By the end of this Parliament, we will have supported 250,000 more adult apprenticeship places than under the previous government’s plans and from this summer our new Work Programme will provide personalised support and training to help unemployed ng people not only get a job but to stay in work,” the spokesman added.

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