The Work Foundation at Lancaster University responded to the latest figures on young people not in education, employment or training (February 2026) released by the Office for National Statistics. Ben Harrison, Director of the Work Foundation at Lancaster University commented on the figures that showed the number of young people aged 16-24 who were NEET rose to 957,000 on the quarter:

“Today’s data is a stark reminder of the magnitude of the challenge facing young people and the Government. One in eight young people aged 16-24 are stuck out of education, employment, or training – with the overall number remaining stubbornly close to one million.

“Disabled young people are hit particularly hard, and there is a considerable risk that more young people will slip into long-term worklessness unless Government acts to address the causes of this rise. Failure to do so could have damaging consequences, with previous studies suggesting that young people who fall out of work for health reasons could be more than £1 million worse off over the course of their lifetime.

“The data indicates that more young people are now looking for work, with the number classified as ‘inactive’ down by 34,000 on the quarter. Although the number of young people in unemployment has risen by 45,000 over the same period, counterintuitively this may reflect more young people moving closer to entering employment – but only if they’re able to find work.

“With vacancies having fallen significantly since the pandemic, the Government’s Youth Guarantee has the potential to help here, but only if done well. In particular, the potential participation of employers such as KFC and JD Sports in the Jobs Guarantee raises concerns regarding the quality of roles likely to be on offer, and what the policy will ultimately achieve.

“The reality is that if a young person has not already found this kind of work after 18 months of coaching and the threat of welfare sanctions, then more significant barriers are likely to exist either in their lives, or in their local economy. Government should be squarely focussed on understanding and supporting positive change in these areas, and must ensure the Youth Guarantee provides young people with secure work, fair pay and real progression for the future.”