The number of young people not in education, employment or training has increased, new figures show.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in the last three months of 2022 there were 788,000 so called NEETs, up from 724,000 in the quarter to September.
An estimated 11.5% of all young people were classed as NEET in October to December, up 0.9 percentage points on the quarter, and up 0.5 percentage points compared with pre-coronavirus pandemic levels (October to December 2019).
The number of young people who were NEET and unemployed in October to December 2022 was estimated to be 299,000, an increase of 65,000 on the quarter – biggest quarterly increase since July to September 2011 and a record quarterly increase for women of 32,000.
Barry Fletcher, chief executive of the Youth Futures Foundation commented: “The Covid generation deserves better. The alarming year-on-year rise in young people who are not earning or learning risks long-term scarring effects.
