Nearly one in seven 16 to 24-year-olds in the UK are now classified as Neet (not in education, employment, or training), according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The number of young people in this category has risen to 1.01 million in the first quarter of 2026, marking the highest level since the end of 2013.
Key statistics
The ONS reported that an estimated 1.01 million 16 to 24-year-olds in the UK were neither working nor learning between January and March 2026. This is an increase from 957,000 in the previous three months and represents the highest figure since October-December 2013, when it stood at 1.04 million. The data series, which began in 2001, shows that the peak was 1.25 million in July-September 2011. After 2011, the number followed a broad downward trend, reaching 750,000 in October-December 2019. This decline halted in 2020 with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, but the figure did not begin to climb steadily until late 2022.
Economic inactivity drives rise
Of the 1.01 million Neet young people, 613,000 were classified as economically inactive, up from 547,000 in October-December 2025. This is the highest number of economically inactive Neets since records began in 2001. Economic inactivity refers to people of working age who are not in employment and are not currently looking for work, which differs from unemployment (those without a job but actively seeking work). The increase in economic inactivity was predominantly driven by males: young men aged 16-24 accounted for 53,000 of the 66,000 rise, while young women accounted for only 13,000.
Unemployment figures
Meanwhile, 400,000 Neets were unemployed in January-March 2026, a slight decrease from 411,000 in the previous quarter. The total Neet figure of 1.01 million represents 13.5% of all 16 to 24-year-olds in the UK, or nearly one in seven. This is up from 12.5% (one in eight) a year earlier. For context, in October-December 2019, just before the pandemic, the proportion stood at 10.7% (nearly one in nine).
