Nearly one million young people in the UK are not in education, employment or training (NEET), a new report warns, placing Britain among the worst-performing wealthy European nations.
The figure marks a sharp rise since 2019, when the NEET rate stood at 13%. It has climbed to 15% in 2025, leaving around 900,000 young people outside work or education.
Among 22 comparable wealthy European economies, only Italy and Lithuania have higher rates. The UK performs significantly worse than countries such as Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands.
The Resolution Foundation attributes the increase to a combination of structural and economic pressures. These include rising ill health among young people - particularly mental health conditions - a weak vocational education system, limited engagement within the benefits system and a softer labour market.
More than half of the rise in NEET levels since 2019 is linked to a weakening jobs market. However, researchers say this does not fully explain the trend. A growing share of young people are now economically inactive rather than unemployed, often due to health-related issues.
At the same time, the number of young benefit claimants not required to engage with work or training has increased from 160,000 to 300,000. This highlights a key difference with lower-NEET countries, where claimants receive more structured support.
The report also points to long-standing weaknesses in vocational education, with fewer young people in the UK entering training pathways compared with their European peers.
The issue is now firmly on the agenda in Westminster, with a government-commissioned review led by Alan Milburn expected to examine barriers preventing young people from entering work.
Ministers say they are responding with a £2.5bn “youth guarantee” scheme aimed at expanding access to jobs and training, alongside £3.5bn in support for people with health conditions.
However, analysts warn that reversing the trend will require long-term reforms across health, education and welfare systems, rather than short-term policy fixes.
The FIFA World Cup 2026 is set to be one of a kind when it kicks off on 11 June, as it brings with it a slew of firsts ahead of co-hosts Mexico takin...
U.S. forces say they have completed strikes on Iranian military sites near the Strait of Hormuz. Iran responded with missile attacks on an American b...
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has warned that Israel’s military operations in Syria and Lebanon have escalated to a point where they could...
More than 1,300 migrants died or went missing while attempting to reach Spain between January and May 2026, according to Spanish NGO Caminando Fronter...
The Pakistani city of Karachi is struggling under severe heat and humidity as the country enters a prolonged heatwave period. The Pakistan Meteorologi...
Thousands of revellers packed Berga's main square as fire-devil performers showered the crowd with sparks during Catalonia's UNESCO-listed La Patum festival.
China and Britain sat down for a major round of talks in Beijing on Tuesday and walked away with a clear message that the two countries want a better, closer relationship and that they are actively working to build one.
The United Kingdom has begun using SpaceX's Starshield satellite network for military operations, according to people familiar with the matter, marking one of the first known deployments of the secure government-focused system outside the U.S.
Protesters chanted “I can’t breathe” and threw bins at police in Southampton on Tuesday (2 June) after footage emerged showing murdered teenager Henry Nowak being arrested as he lay dying from a stab wound.
Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry says 19 citizens have been repatriated following a deadly drone attack on two cargo ships in the Sea of Azov on 5 June.
A Sudanese man has been arrested over a knife attack in Belfast that left a man seriously injured and prompted calls online for a protest after footage of the incident circulated widely on social media.
Iran and Israel said on Monday (8 June) they had halted attacks on each other following an appeal from U.S. President Donald Trump, as Axios reported that Trump had privately told Benjamin Netanyahu “be careful, or you will be on your own very soon”.
Armenia’s parliamentary election has strengthened Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s mandate, with analysts linking the result to his post-Garabagh agenda and pro-Western direction. However, constitutional constraints remain a key obstacle to peace efforts with Azerbaijan.
ChatGPT maker OpenAI has confidentially filed for a U.S. initial public offering (IPO), the company said on Monday, joining rival Anthropic in a race to the stock market as investors seek exposure to the artificial intelligence boom.
The FIFA World Cup 2026 is set to be one of a kind when it kicks off on 11 June, as it brings with it a slew of firsts ahead of co-hosts Mexico taking on South Africa in the opening match.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has warned that Israel’s military operations in Syria and Lebanon have escalated to a point where they could threaten Türkiye, describing Israel’s actions as “aggression” that poses a broader global risk.
More than 1,300 migrants died or went missing while attempting to reach Spain between January and May 2026, according to Spanish NGO Caminando Fronteras, highlighting the continuing dangers of one of the world's deadliest migration corridors.
Rescuers searched the rubble of a collapsed building in the southern Philippine city of General Santos on Tuesday after a powerful earthquake killed at least 37 people and injured hundreds across the country.
Ukraine's military said it struck a Russian "shadow fleet" tanker in the Black Sea as part of ongoing efforts to disrupt Moscow's energy and logistics networks. The move underscores Kyiv's focus on targeting maritime assets it says are used to bypass sanctions on Russian oil exports.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment