The number of young people outside education, employment or training has fallen back below one million, but the latest figures show that the scale of the challenge remains significant.
According to the Office for National Statistics, an estimated 981,000 people aged 16 to 24 were NEET between April and June 2026, equivalent to 13% of young people in this age group. The total fell by around 30,000 compared with the previous quarter, although it remained approximately 30,000 higher than during the same period in 2025.
The quarterly reduction is a welcome movement after the total exceeded one million during the first three months of 2026. However, the ONS advises caution when interpreting short-term changes in NEET estimates because smaller population groups can experience greater statistical volatility. Looking at the longer-term picture remains important.
Behind the headline figure are hundreds of thousands of young people experiencing very different circumstances. Some are actively searching for their first job. Others may need additional education or training, while some have become more disconnected from the labour market and require personalised support before employment becomes a realistic next step.
This distinction matters because reducing NEET levels cannot simply be about moving a national number down. It needs to be about understanding why individual young people are outside employment or education and creating routes that help them progress.
Why the Wider NEET Picture Matters
The independent Young People and Work review has highlighted the scale of this wider challenge. It found that almost 60% of young people who are NEET are economically inactive rather than unemployed, meaning they are not currently looking for work.
It also reported that six in ten NEET young people have never had a job, compared with four in ten in 2005.
These figures demonstrate why the challenge cannot be solved through vacancies alone. For some young people, the journey towards employment needs to begin with rebuilding confidence, identifying strengths, developing practical skills and understanding what opportunities are available.
Early Intervention Can Make a Difference
The longer somebody remains disconnected from education, employment or training, the harder returning can become.
Analysis within the review found that 65% of those who had been NEET for less than a year returned to employment, education or training the following year. Among those who had been NEET for more than a year, that proportion fell to 25%.
That makes early intervention particularly important.
Helping somebody develop confidence, workplace experience and employability skills before a short period outside work turns into long-term disengagement can potentially change the direction of their future.
Early support can also help young people understand their strengths, explore possible career paths and gain practical experience before they become increasingly disconnected from the labour market.
Young People Still Have Ambition
Being NEET does not mean lacking ambition.
A DWP-commissioned survey of 417 NEET 16 to 24-year-olds explored their aspirations, barriers and the support they believed could help them move towards employment, education or training.
Young people may want to work while still facing significant obstacles. Limited experience, low confidence, uncertainty about career options, skills gaps and a lack of access to appropriate opportunities can all make entering the workplace more difficult.
Creating opportunities therefore means ensuring there are realistic places for young people to move towards.
Apprenticeships, practical training, work experience and genuine entry-level jobs can provide the first step into a career while allowing employers to develop the skills they need within their future workforce.
Employers Have an Important Role
Employer partnerships are especially important.
A young person can complete training, improve their CV and practise interviews, but ultimately somebody needs to provide the opportunity to put those skills into practice.
Employers willing to recruit for potential as well as previous experience can help break the familiar cycle of needing experience to get a job but needing a job to gain experience.
Providing meaningful entry-level opportunities can benefit employers too. Businesses can develop emerging talent, introduce young people to their industries and build a stronger pipeline of future employees with the skills their organisations need.
Work experience, apprenticeships, mentoring and entry-level employment can all create important bridges between preparation and long-term employment.
Reaching Young People Outside Traditional Employment Support
There is also a substantial group of young people who may not be reached through traditional employment services.
The Young People and Work review estimates that around 314,000 NEET 18 to 24-year-olds in England were not claiming benefits, meaning they can sit outside the main routes through which employment support is delivered.
This reinforces the importance of community organisations, education providers, employers and local partnerships working alongside national programmes.
Support needs to be visible and accessible to young people whether or not they are already connected to the benefits system.
For some young people, a local organisation, training provider, employer or community programme may provide the first meaningful connection back towards education, skills development or employment.
The People Behind the Statistics
At I’M MORE, we believe every young person deserves the opportunity to build a future defined by potential rather than circumstance.
Falling below one million is progress, but 981,000 is still more than a statistic.
It represents individual young people with different skills, interests, ambitions and barriers.
The aim should not simply be to reduce the NEET total. It should be to make sure that the people behind that number can see and access a realistic route forward.
This means creating environments where young people can discover their strengths, develop confidence and gain the practical skills and experiences that can help them progress.
Our mission is to help young people Discover, Believe and Become.
Turning Progress Into Long-Term Change
Sustained progress will require education providers, employers, apprenticeships, employability support organisations, communities and national programmes to work together.
Training is most effective when there are genuine opportunities waiting at the next stage. Employers benefit when young people are better prepared for the workplace, while young people benefit when businesses are prepared to recognise potential rather than focusing exclusively on previous experience.
The challenge is therefore not simply getting NEET numbers below one million.
It is creating a system in which fewer young people become disconnected in the first place and those who do can quickly find a realistic pathway back into education, training or employment.
If more young people can access their first opportunity before temporary disengagement becomes long-term, falling NEET numbers can become more than a quarterly change.
They can represent futures beginning to move forward.
