This data may be out of date — the source may have published a newer figure. Check ONS →
Home / education / NEET rate (16-24)

NEET rate (16-24)

Percentage of young people aged 16-24 not in education, employment, or training.

12 %
+2.10pp vs previous period

As of 2024-Q4

Historical trend

12 12 12 2022-Q12023-Q32024-Q4

Trend summary

11.2% of 16–24 year olds in England were not in education, employment or training (NEET) in Q3 2024.

Trend

  • The NEET rate for 16–24 year olds fell from around 17% in 2011 to below 11% by 2019, before rising during the pandemic and then recovering.
  • The current rate of 11.2% is close to the pre-pandemic level of around 11%.
  • The 16–17 NEET rate stood at 6.0% in December 2024, close to its historic low.

Context

  • DfE and ONS publish NEET estimates quarterly; the 16–24 series is from the Labour Force Survey and is subject to sampling error.
  • The 16–17 NEET measure is based on administrative data and is more precise for that age group.

Trend summary generated by claude-sonnet-4-6 on 20 February 2025. Contains no editorial judgement — describes direction, magnitude, and official projections only.

OECD comparison

🇯🇵 Japan
3.1 %
🇩🇪 Germany
8.2 %
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
12 %
🇫🇷 France
14 %
🇮🇹 Italy
19 %

About this indicator

Source
ONS
Update frequency
Quarterly
Last updated
23 January 2025 Data may be out of date
Licence
OGL v3
Rising trend is…
Negative

Statistics

Latest
12.2 %
Period high
12.2
Period low
11.8
Period average
12.0