HomeDuring the final quarter of last year, 938,000 16- to 24-year-olds were classified as Neet, compared with 895,000 during the final three months of 2009.
There was a dip in the number of 16- to 18-year-olds classified as Neet between the final three months of 2009 and 2010 from 177,000 to 162,000. But those aged between 19 and 24 are still struggling to find work or a suitable course. In the final quarter of 2009 there were 718,000 young people in this age group classified as Neet (Not in education, employment or training). By the same period last year this figure had jumped to 777,000.
The think tank Demos anticipates the Neet figures will rise further over the coming months, claiming that "inadequate" Level 1 and 2 NVQ courses are leaving young people poorly equipped to find work.
Its report, The Forgotten Half, to be published in March, argues that the 230,000 16- to 18-year-olds leaving education with only NVQ Level 1 and 2 qualifications will struggle to find work and could push the Neet figures to 1.2m.
The report calls for the government to offer firms a National Insurance reduction for workers under the age of 25.
Report author Jonathan Birdwell said: "There is drought of entry-level jobs meaning the door to work is closed to many young people."
Peter Gibson, spokesman for youth charity Rathbone, believes the abolition of the education maintenance allowance (EMA) will swell the Neet figures further.
He said: "The young people we support are tenacious and want to take courses, but they are already finding it a struggle without that financial assistance of the EMA. For some, it really is the difference between carrying on with a course and being forced to give up."
Meanwhile, the government has this week published an evaluation of its Activity Agreement pilots aimed at helping those classified as Neet to find courses or work. This showed that a weekly payment to young people was "a powerful engagement tool".
Source: Children & Young People Now