The proportion of 18-year-olds not in education, employment or training (NEET) has shot up to its highest level since 2009, new figures have revealed.
Department for Education statistics published today show that 15.9 per cent of people aged 18 were classed as economically inactive by the end of 2022 – an increase of 6.1 percentage points compared to 2021. In 2009, 16.5 per cent of 18-year-olds were NEET.
This rise drove the overall 16 to 18 NEET rate up by 1.3 percentage points to 8.4 per cent, the highest rate since 2012, despite the proportion of 16 to 17-year-old NEETs falling by 1.1 percentage points to 4.6 per cent over the same period.
