UK NEETs top one million for first time since 2013, ONS reports

The Story

The Office for National Statistics reported that 1,012,000 young people aged 16-24 in the UK were not in education, employment or training (NEET) in January to March 2026. This is the first time the figure has exceeded one million since October-December 2013, representing 13.5% of all young people. Alan Milburn released a government-backed interim report on the same day, warning of a growing risk of a “lost generation.”

Key Facts

• The ONS reported 1,012,000 NEETs aged 16-24 in January-March 2026, an increase of 89,000 year-on-year and 55,000 quarter-on-quarter.
• The increase was largely among young men, up 55,000 on the year, and young women, up 34,000; of the total, 553,000 were young men and 459,000 were young women.
• The percentage of all young people who were NEET rose to 13.5% in that period.
• Alan Milburn’s interim report described the situation as a “record of failure” and noted the UK’s NEET rate is nearly three times that of the Netherlands (5.3%).
• Across the EU, the NEET rate for ages 15-29 dipped to 11.0% in 2025, down from 11.1% in 2024.
• TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak urged the government to ignore “cynical attempts to blame new workers’ rights laws” for the rise.
• Helen Dickinson (British Retail Consortium) and Allen Simpson (UKHospitality) blamed rising employment costs, including employer national insurance increases and the Employment Rights Act, for reducing job opportunities.
• The ONS’s Elise Rohan stated the rise was driven by “greater numbers of young people no longer looking for work.”

Conflicting Reports

The source article presents conflicting views on the cause of the NEETs rise: the TUC argues against blaming workers’ rights laws, while business representatives (British Retail Consortium, UKHospitality) attribute the rise to increased employment costs and regulations from government policies.

Still Unclear

The article does not specify what solutions Alan Milburn will propose in his next report; the current report only diagnoses the problem and calls for bolder action.

Misconceptions

The article addresses the misconception that new workers’ rights laws are responsible for the NEETs crisis. TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak states that youth rates are “increasingly obsolete” and that cutting the minimum wage for young workers is not the way to retain them, citing Low Pay Commission evidence.

Key Figures

• Alan Milburn – author of the government-backed report on NEETs.
• Paul Nowak – General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC).
• Lizzie Crowley – senior skills adviser at the CIPD.
• Helen Dickinson – chief executive of the British Retail Consortium.
• Allen Simpson – chief executive of UKHospitality.
• Ellie Harris – principal research fellow and head of children and young people at the IPPR thinktank.
• Jon Fitzmaurice – head of external engagement at the Work Foundation at Lancaster University.
• Elise Rohan – head of labour market output at the ONS.
• Pat McFaddon – Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (mentioned as introducing Milburn’s press conference).

Sources

• The Guardian — Primary Source (single-source story)