The record number of job vacancies in the UK paints a picture of a world of opportunities for young people. But new data shows one in eight of those aged 18 to 24 are not in education, employment or training (NEET).
For 18-year-olds, the figure rises to one in five. At no point this century have fewer than one in 10 young people been NEET, regardless of the strength of the jobs market, according to youth charity Impetus.
The number of young people unemployed for more than a year in July to September this year has increased by 19 per cent, according to the latest figures from the ONS, compared to those who were unemployed for more than a year in the same period in 2019.
Urgent action on youth unemployment is needed, and the House of Lords Youth Unemployment Committee has called for wide-ranging reforms to careers guidance, apprenticeships, and the national curriculum in a newly released report.
“Youth unemployment has blighted our society for decades and its impact can endure for years. At 11.7 per cent, the UK’s youth unemployment rate continues to be worse than many other countries, and today more than one in eight [12.6 per cent] of our under 25s are neither working nor in full-time study,” said Lord Shipley, chair of the committee.
Job vacancies are rising, from 1.1 million in October to 1.2 million a month later, and a staggering seven in 10 employees said they felt confident about moving to a new role in the next few months.