Lost in transition

This report investigates why the UK’s NEET rate has been rising since 2019, and why it has long been higher than in many other countries.

After falling for much of the 2010s, the proportion of 18-24-year-olds who are not in education, employment or training (the ‘NEET rate’) climbed from 13 per cent in 2019 to 15 per cent in 2025 – equivalent to almost 900,000 young people. This sharp rise has brought NEETs to the top of the political agenda, sparking the upcoming Government review led by Alan Milburn on why young people are becoming more disconnected from work. But this recent rise is only part of the story: the UK’s NEET rate was already high compared to other countries even before it began rising.
Just over half of the post-2019 rise in NEETs can be explained by a weaker labour market. The rest reflects not worse unemployment than economic conditions would predict, but higher economic inactivity that has been rising alongside worsening health and increasing incapacity benefit claims. Looking abroad however, ill health need not translate into poor participation outcomes. Rather, countries with the lowest NEET rates do so by having more people in education (or combining education and work), alongside benefits systems that have more extensive requirements, but offer more generous support than in the UK.

Tackling the UK’s NEET problem will require action across health, education and benefits. There are no simple, quick or cheap fixes, but the prize is large: if the UK matched the Netherlands’ NEET rate, 600,000 more 18-24-year-olds would be learning or earning today.