Hidden NEETs Highlight Why Employment Support Must Reach Beyond the Benefits System

Thousands of young people across the UK are outside education, employment or training without claiming benefits, raising an important question about how employment support reaches those who may not be connected to the traditional systems designed to help people into work.

New research from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) examines this group, often described as hidden NEETs. At the end of 2025, around 870,000 people aged 18 to 24 in Great Britain were not in education, employment or training, with almost 300,000 estimated to be claiming no benefits at all. This means they are outside the main benefit-based routes through which young people can access employment support.

However, being outside the benefits system does not necessarily mean somebody is disconnected from the labour market. The IFS found that among hidden NEETs aged 22 to 23, 74% were actively looking for work, while others were volunteering or temporarily between education and employment. More than half had been NEET for less than six months.

This is an important distinction. Many young people outside employment are not necessarily lacking motivation or ambition. They may be applying for jobs, waiting for an opportunity or trying to make the transition from education into the workplace without receiving formal employment support.

The research also found that hidden NEETs generally have stronger employment prospects than young people who are NEET and receiving benefits. Among the 22 to 23-year-olds studied, 54% of hidden NEETs had a degree, compared with 12% of those receiving benefits. The IFS therefore cautions against assuming that every young person outside the benefits system requires intensive government intervention.

At the same time, there is a group for whom being outside the system could become a much longer-term problem. Around 43% of hidden NEETs aged 22 to 23 had been outside work or education for more than six months, while 19% had been in that position for more than 18 months.

This is where access to opportunity becomes particularly important.

Some employment initiatives are connected to how long somebody has been claiming Universal Credit rather than simply how long they have been outside work. The IFS argues there is a case for considering wider access to employment programmes for young adults who are not claiming benefits, while also acknowledging the additional costs and practical challenges this could create.

The wider independent review into young people and work has also highlighted the difficulty of identifying young people who are outside both employment and the welfare system. Government analysis estimated around 314,000 18 to 24-year-olds in England were NEET without claiming benefits, although the estimate has a wide uncertainty range. Looking for work or a suitable course was the most commonly identified reason for being NEET among this group.

Employment support therefore cannot depend entirely on young people finding their way into one particular system.

Community organisations, colleges, training providers, local employers and youth services can all provide additional routes through which somebody can discover opportunities. Stronger connections between these organisations could help ensure that a young person does not have to be claiming a particular benefit before they can receive careers advice, develop workplace skills or meet employers.

Employers can play an especially important role. Apprenticeships, work placements and genuine entry-level positions give young people somewhere to begin building experience. Recruiting for potential alongside previous employment history can also prevent capable candidates from being overlooked simply because they have not yet had their first substantial opportunity.

There also needs to be recognition that the term “hidden NEET” covers people in very different circumstances. Someone who has recently finished university and is spending several months looking for their first graduate job may require very different support from somebody who has spent two years disconnected from both employment and education.

That is why personalised support matters. Rather than treating every young person outside employment as having the same needs, support can focus on the individual barriers preventing progress — whether that is experience, confidence, qualifications, transport, career direction or simply access to suitable vacancies.

At I’M MORE, we believe every young person deserves the opportunity to build a future defined by potential rather than circumstance.

Young people should not have to become visible to the benefits system before they become visible to opportunity. Employment support can be strongest when employers, education, apprenticeships, employability programmes and community organisations create multiple ways for people to engage and move forward.

Our mission is to help young people Discover, Believe and Become.

The challenge is not simply finding every young person who is currently NEET. It is making sure that when somebody needs support, there is an accessible route towards skills, confidence, employers and meaningful work — regardless of whether they are already connected to the welfare system.