News story

Government response to the latest NEETs figures

A government spokesman responds to the quarter 4 2010 figures on young people not in employment, education or training.

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

Following the publication of the latest NEETs (not in employment, education or training) figures for Quarter 4 2010, a Government spokesman said:

The number of young people who are NEET is still too high. That is why we are committed to supporting all 16- and 17-year-olds to participate in education or training, and to raising the participation age to 18 by 2015.

Government departments are working closely together to widen the opportunities available to young people aged 16-24 and to ensure that they are provided with the support they need. We will fund 75,000 more adult apprenticeship places than under the previous Government’s plans. From this summer our new Work Programme will provide personalised support and training to help unemployed young people into work.

It is young people who bear the brunt in any recession or downturn, which is why we are so focused on tackling the deficit and promoting growth.

Quarter 4 2010 NEETs figures

Q4 2009 Q4 2010 change from Q4 2009 to Q4 2010*
Age 16 5.5% 5.0% (32,000)  -0.5% pts (-2,000)
Age 17 7.4% 6.6% (40,000) -0.9% pts (-9,000)
Age 18 14.9% 13.8% (90,000) -1.0% pts (-4,000)
Age 16-18 9.3% 8.5% (162,000) -0.7% pts (-15,000)
Age 18-24 17.1% 18.1% (866,000) +1.1% pts (+54,000)
Age 19-24 17.4% 18.8% (777,000) +1.4% pts (+59,000)
Age 16-24 14.8% 15.6% (938,000) +0.8% pts (+43,000)

The full statistics are available to download.

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Published 24 February 2011