Estimates from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) in England.
LFS data has been reweighted from January 2019 onwards which has led to revisions in previously published estimates and a discontinuity in the timeseries. Comparisons of levels prior to the discontinuity should be viewed with caution. Full details of the reweighting can be found here: Impact of reweighting on LFS key indicators (opens in new tab). Due to the reweighting users should not go back to earlier versions of the release.
There have been some improvements in LFS response rates in recent years however LFS statistics remain badged as "official statistics in development" until further review.
13.3%
Down 0.3 percentage points compared to 2024
NEET refers to those not in education, employment or training.
4.0%
Down 0.5 percentage points compared to 2024
16.0%
Down 0.2 percentage points compared to 2024
The latest Labour Force Survey (LFS) estimates for England show 839,900 16 to 24-year-olds (based on academic age) were not in education, employment or training (NEET) between October and December 2025. That is 13.3%, over 1 in 8 young people in that age range.
The latest estimate shows an annual decrease in the NEET rate of 0.3 percentage points. Although the decrease is positive news, it should be noted that since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, the NEET rate has seen an upward trend with some annual fluctuations. It is therefore too early to tell if this is the start of a downward pattern or if rates will continue to fluctuate in subsequent years. To note, although there has been a decrease in the proportion of the population who are NEET, the actual number of those NEET in England has increased in the latest year (by an estimated 2,900).
The ONS (opens in new tab) published seasonally adjusted figures for the UK (based on actual age at the time surveyed) covering the same period which showed 12.8% NEET with a similar annual decrease of 0.4 percentage points.
The decrease in the NEET rate has been driven by a higher proportion in education and training. Although the estimated proportion in employment (not in education and training) has fallen slightly, the fall is proportionally less than the increase in education and training so the overall result is a lower rate of NEET.
It should be noted that of those NEET, 2.2% were unemployed for more than 6 months - the highest rate since 2014 and a statistically significant annual increase.
England estimates show that young men are more likely than young women to be NEET, 14.0% of all male 16 to 24-year-olds were estimated to be NEET, compared with 12.7% of females. The male NEET rate has fallen since last year by 0.6 percentage points, and the female NEET rate has remained fairly stable but is now the highest since 2014.
Analysis from the Annual Population Survey (APS) suggests that over half of those NEET had a health condition in 2025 with 1 in 5 of those NEET currently report having a mental health condition.
Since 2013, those aged 16 and 17 are required to remain in education or training (under Raising Participation Age (RPA) legislation) and therefore have a lower estimated NEET rate than those aged over 18 of 4.0%.
The overall NEET rate for the 16 to 17 age group has decreased by 0.5 percentage points in the latest year. There are now 56,800 16 and 17 year olds estimated to be NEET (an estimated annual decrease of 5,700).
The decrease in the NEET rate has been driven by a higher proportion in employment (not in education and training).
Males have a higher NEET rate than females, 4.9% compared with 3.1%.
The age 18 to 24 NEET rate at the end of 2025 was 16.0% (783,100). Many of the 18 to 24 age group are no longer in education and are instead in the labour market.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic the NEET rate for this older age group has fluctuated. The latest NEET rate is fairly stable, just 0.2 percentage points lower than last year. However, although there has been a small decrease in the proportion of the population who are NEET, the actual number of those age 18 to 24 NEET in England has increased in the latest year (by an estimated 8,700).
Despite the relative stability in the 18 to 24 NEET rate, there has been a small shift in the activity status for non-NEETs - with an increase in the proportion participating in education and training (up 0.6 percentage points) and a decrease (0.5 percentage points) of those in employment (not in education and training).
Although LFS data has only been reweighted to 2019 some comparisons have been made to estimates earlier in the timeseries and therefore should be viewed with some caution. However, it should be noted that the reweighting did not change previously published trends as shown in the accompanying methodology.
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This section summarises the drivers for the annual changes in NEET rates for the compulsory age group (16 to 17) and those in the labour market (18 to 24) and also the overall age group (16 to 24) :
Analysis of the latest trends are provided in the sections below. The following supplementary tables provide the headline figures.
You can explore the data further and build your own tables with our online table tool builder.
The proportion NEET varies by age:
In addition to the trends noted above for compulsory and non-compulsory participation age, the table below shows other grouped ages of interest. None of the annual changes are statistically significant and previous cautions around LFS survey data and the volatility of estimates should be considered alongside these estimates.
NEET rate by age, England, October to December 2024-2025 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Academic age (age as at 31st August) | Oct to Dec 2024 | Oct to Dec 2025 | 95% confidence interval for Oct to Dec 2025 (percentage limits) | Annual change from Oct-Dec 2024 to 2025 (percentage points) |
| Ages 16-17 | 4.6% | 4.0% | (+/-1.0) 3.1% - 5.0% | -0.5pp |
| Ages 16-18 | 7.8% | 7.0% | (+/-1.1) 5.9% - 8.1% | -0.8pp |
| Ages 16-21 | 11.3% | 11.3% | (+/-1.0) 10.3% - 12.3% | 0.0pp |
| Ages 18-21 | 14.7% | 15.0% | (+/-1.5) 13.6% - 16.5% | 0.3pp |
| Ages 18-24 | 16.2% | 16.0% | (+/-1.2) 14.9% - 17.2% | -0.2pp |
| Ages 16-24 | 13.6% | 13.3% | (+/-0.9) 12.4% - 14.2% | -0.3pp |
NEET rates are also available in the underlying data by individual age. Rates vary notably when looking across individual ages as do the annual changes. Confidence intervals, remain large for individual age analysis and therefore NEET estimates by individual age must be used with caution and considered alongside associated 95% confidence intervals. Grouped age analysis provides more robust estimates with smaller confidence intervals.
Although LFS data has only been reweighted to 2019 some comparisons have been made to estimates earlier in the timeseries and therefore should be viewed with some caution. However, it should be noted that the reweighting did not change previously published trends as shown in the accompanying methodology.
The following section shows in more detail the reasons that young people aged 16 to 24 are NEET. Data for 2025 shows that:
Please note, due to small sample sizes, estimates should be viewed alongside associated 95% confidence intervals as shown in the underlying data.
Although LFS data has only been reweighted to 2019 some comparisons have been made to estimates earlier in the timeseries and therefore should be viewed with some caution. However, it should be noted that the reweighting did not change previously published trends as shown in the accompanying methodology.
There are some differences by sex in the main reason for being NEET at ages 16 to 24:
The proportion of the male population long-term unemployed (more than 6 months) has increased in the latest year with short-term unemployment remaining relatively stable. Both unemployment rates are higher than pre-COVID-19 pandemic rates.
There has been a notable decrease in the proportion of males inactive due to being long-term or temporarily sick following a series high last year. Those males reporting an 'other' reason for inactivity has also decreased but it remains higher than pre-COVID-19 levels.
The proportion of the female population long-term unemployed (more than 6 months) has increased notably in the latest year and is statistically significant. However, short-term unemployment has decreased following the highest rate since 2012 reported in 2024.
Overall economic inactivity for the female population has remained fairly stable. However, there has been an increase in the percentage of females inactive due to ‘other’ reasons, and this estimate is the highest since the series began in 2000 at 3.3%.
Please note, due to small sample sizes, estimates should be viewed alongside associated 95% confidence intervals as shown in the underlying data.
Although LFS data has only been reweighted to 2019 some comparisons have been made to estimates earlier in the timeseries and therefore should be viewed with some caution. However, it should be noted that the reweighting did not change previously published trends as shown in the accompanying methodology.
The following analysis uses the Annual Population Survey (APS) covering the twelve month period from October to September for the years 2012 to 2025. Due to larger sample sizes in the APS we use this data when looking at specific groups in the population. To note, APS data has not currently been reweighted and therefore comparisons can be made across the full timeseries.
The headline rate in this release of 13.3% is the LFS quarter 4 2025 rate and is the first data available for the latest academic year. Because of the seasonality in the data (see section on seasonal effects) trends can differ between the annual APS and single quarter estimates from the LFS.
Overall NEET rate estimates are comparable using the APS and LFS when comparing the same 12-month period. For October 2024 to September 2025, the APS NEET rate for 16 to 24 year olds was 13.5%. This is a similar rate when averaging the four quarters for the same period for LFS data (13.6%).
The following chart shows the overall APS NEET rate over time compared to the proportion of NEETs with a health condition, which may contribute to their reason for being NEET.
Due to an adjustment made by the ONS to the 2024 APS data, small differences may be seen when comparing to the previous NEET publication.
The following section shows how the primary health condition reported by 16 to 24 NEETs vary over time.
In the latest year:
With the exception of learning difficulties including autism, all other non-mental health conditions have seen small increases in proportions when compared to last year. Difficulty with seeing or hearing has seen the largest increase from 0.4% to 1.6% and is the highest on record, although it should be noted that the rate is similar to 2023.
In 2025 those NEET were estimated to be nearly twice as likely to have a health condition compared to the overall 16 to 24 population. The rates of those with a health condition are the highest in the series for both NEETs and the overall population at 52.1% and 28.0% respectively (see chart below).
In the first half of the timeseries the increase in reported health conditions was largely due to increases in the proportion of young people reporting a mental health condition. However in recent years, the proportions reporting a mental health condition as their primary condition appear to have stabilised and those reporting a non-mental health condition, has seen an increase.
The proportion of those NEET with a non-mental health condition has increased by 1.3 percentage points from last year, following an upwards trajectory since 2017. This is in the main driven by increases in young people reporting learning difficulties including autism.
Almost a third (32.1%) of NEETs aged 16 to 24 and a fifth (20.0%) of the total 16 to 24 population reported a non-mental health condition, the highest proportions in the series.
The proportion NET varies by age:
In addition to the trends noted above for compulsory and non-compulsory participation age the following tables look at other age groupings. No annual change estimates are statistically significant in 2025 meaning these changes should be viewed with caution and considered alongside the 95% confidence intervals:
NET rates by age, England, October to December 2024-2025 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Academic age(age as at 31st August) | Oct to Dec 2024 | Oct to Dec 2025 | 95% confidence interval for Oct to Dec 2025 (percentage limits) | Annual change in NET rate from Oct-Dec 2024 to 2025 (percentage points) |
| Ages 16-17 | 6.0% | 5.9% | (+/- 1.2) 4.8% -7.1% | 0.0pp |
| Ages 16-18 | 14.7% | 13.5% | (+/- 1.4) 12.1% - 15.0% | -1.1pp |
| Ages 16-21 | 29.2% | 27.8% | (+/- 1.4) 26.4% - 29.2% | -1.4pp |
| Ages 18-21 | 41.0% | 39.0% | (+/- 2.0) 37.0% - 40.9% | -2.0pp |
| Ages 18-24 | 52.3% | 51.7% | (+/- 1.6) 50.1% - 53.2% | -0.6pp |
| Ages 16-24 | 42.0% | 41.4% | (+/- 1.3) 40.1% - 42.8% | -0.5pp |
Participation in education and training is the inverse of those NET. For ease of reference, the following table shows the proportions in education and training:
In education and training rates by age, England, October to December 2024-2025 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Academic age (age as at 31st August) | Oct to Dec 2024 | Oct to Dec 2025 | 95% confidence interval for Oct to Dec 2025 (percentage limits) | Annual change from Oct-Dec 2024 to 2025 (percentage points) |
| Ages 16-17 | 94.0% | 94.1% | (+/- 1.2) 92.9% - 95.2% | 0.0pp |
| Ages 16-18 | 85.3% | 86.5% | (+/- 1.4) 85.0% - 87.9% | 1.1pp |
| Ages 16-21 | 70.8% | 72.2% | (+/- 1.4) 70.8% - 73.6% | 1.4pp |
| Ages 18-21 | 59.0% | 61.0% | (+/- 2.0) 59.1% - 63.0% | 2.0pp |
| Ages 18-24 | 47.7% | 48.3% | (+/- 1.6) 46.8% - 49.9% | 0.6pp |
| Ages 16-24 | 58.0% | 58.6% | (+/- 1.3) 57.2% - 59.9% | 0.5pp |
NET rates are also available in the underlying data by individual age and NET annual change varies when looking across these ages. Confidence intervals, however, remain large for individual age analysis and therefore NET estimates by individual age must be used with caution and considered alongside associated 95% confidence intervals. Grouped age analysis provides more robust estimates with smaller confidence intervals.
NEET rates exhibit seasonal patterns that tend to reflect the academic year: typically there are lower rates in autumn (Q4 October to December) followed by a gradual rise in spring and early summer (Q1 January to June) with a peak in late summer (Q3 July to September).
The chart below shows the quarterly NEET estimates since 2010 and demonstrates these seasonal effects.
Users should be aware that figures for young people who are NEET and NET are published in other statistics releases. The table below provides a summary of the four related releases and gives information on their content.
| Title | Participation in education, training and employment | NEET aged 16 to 24 | Young people NEET | Local authority NEET and participation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Producer | Department for Education | Department for Education | Office for National Statistics | Department for Education |
| Status | Accredited Official Statistics | Official Statistics in Development | Official Statistics in Development | Transparency data |
| Age range | 16-18 | 16-24 | 16-24 | 16-17 |
| Age type | Academic age[1] | Academic age[1] | Actual age | Academic age[1] |
| Country | England | England | UK | England |
| Regional breakdowns | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| LA breakdown | No | No | No | Yes |
| Data type | Mostly administrative | Survey | Survey | Management information from NCCIS [3] |
| Frequency of publication | Annually | Annually | Quarterly | Annually |
| Seasonally adjusted | No | No | Yes | No |
| When to use?[2] | England NEET (and participation) figures, age 16-18 | England/regional NEET figures, age 16-24 (includes reasons NEET) | UK NEET figures, age 16-24 (published quarterly so often most timely) | LA/regional NEET (and participation) figures, age 16-17 (includes pupil characteristics) |
[1] Academic age is defined as ‘age at the start of the academic year’ i.e. age as at 31 August. Actual age is defined as ‘respondents age at the time surveyed’.
[2] Left to right indicates recommended order of preference in which the statistics should be used based on most users’ needs and robustness of the data.
[3] National Client Caseload Information System (NCCIS) provides local authorities (LAs) with the information they need to support young people to engage in education and training; to identify those who are not participating and to plan services that meet young people’s needs.
Participation in education, training and employment statistics are DfE’s (Department for Education’s) definitive statistics on participation, NEET and NET for the 16 to 18 age group. As these estimates are largely based on administrative data, they are considered the most robust available. The estimates relate to a snapshot of activities at the end of the calendar year,
DfE’s October to December NEET/NET estimates using the Labour Force Survey (usually published February/March each year) are indicative of the end of year NEET/NET figures in the Participation release (usually published June each year). The chart below shows how estimates from the two sources have compared since 2000.
In 2020 and 2021 there was more divergence between rates for LFS data and Participation data. This may have been as a result of differences in reporting methods during the COVID-19 pandemic. LFS data is survey data where NEET/NET status is self-reported by the young person, whereas the Participation release uses administrative data, reported by institutions.
For 2024, the difference in the NET and NEET rates have narrowed slightly compared to 2023. A longer time series will help identify if rates are becoming more comparable or if they will widen again.
The next Participation statistics, covering the period end 2025, are scheduled to be published in summer 2026.
Age 16-17 regional and local authority NEET estimates (opens in new tab) are published annually by DfE as transparency data. Figures on NEETs are provided as an average of December, January and February. This information comes from local authorities NCCIS systems (National Client Caseload Information System).
Similar to the trend seen in the chart above for 16-18 year olds, NEET rates for young people aged 16 to 17 shows divergence across the different NEET sources for the years 2020 and 2021 (see chart below). Following the Covid-19 pandemic, the gap between these estimates narrowed in 2022. However data for the last couple of years (2023 and 2024) shows a slight widening again, with the 2024 NEET rate from the Participation release lying outside the confidence intervals for the LFS estimate. A longer time series will be required to assess the long term trend and if rates across the sources are becoming more or less comparable.
Some caution should be taken if using the NCCIS figures. This is due to the estimates being based on management information which means they are not produced to the same standards as official statistics. Also, the NCCIS figures include ‘not known’ activity, which results in some overestimation of NEET, as can be seen in the chart when comparing the NCCIS figures to the LFS and participation figures.
The proportion of those aged 16/17 whose activities are ‘not known’ varies at local authority/regional level and between years so particular caution should be taken when making geographic and/or time-series comparisons.
Users should also be aware of the ONS (Office for National Statistics) release: Young people not in education, employment or training (NEET), UK - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk) (opens in new tab).
Whilst they are based on the same quarterly LFS data, the NEET and NET figures in the DfE release differ from those in the ONS release due to coverage and methodological differences as shown in the “Other NEET sources” table above.
The headline ONS figures are seasonally adjusted whilst the DfE figures are not and this accounts for most of the differences. The respective use of academic age (DfE) and actual age (ONS) has little impact at overall age 16 to 24 (but is more notable at the younger 16/17 age group). Whilst the ONS and DfE figures are based on UK and England respectively, this only accounts for a small degree of variation as the UK figures are primarily driven by England.
The ONS seasonally adjusted 16 to 24 UK NEET figure for October to December 2024 was 12.8%, compared with the DfE (non-seasonally adjusted) 16 to 24 England NEET figure of 13.3%, a difference of 0.5 percentage points.
In addition to the volatility of LFS estimates due to sample sizes, there has also been a reweighting exercise. Therefore small differences may be seen when comparing to previously published rates. The new reweighted LFS estimates incorporates latest estimates of the size and composition of the UK population, improving the representativeness of LFS estimates. However, LFS data has only been reweighted from January 2019 onwards. Therefore, this reweighting exercise creates a discontinuity at this point and comparisons before this point should be made with caution. For more information about the reweighting exercise please see here: Impact of reweighting on Labour Force Survey. (opens in new tab)
These statistics are based on quarterly Labour Force Survey (LFS) (opens in new tab) data. They provide estimates of young people: not in education, employment or training (NEET) and not in education or training (NET).
The NEET and NET rates both capture young people who are not in education or training. However, NEET also captures those young people not in employment. Employment has a larger impact on NEET rates for those post compulsory education age (18+) as many are active in the labour market.
These statistics cover 16 to 24 year olds in England, together with other age breakdowns within that bracket e.g. 16 to 17 and 18 to 24 year olds. Estimates are based on academic age, defined as ‘age at the start of the academic year’ i.e. age as at 31 August. They also include some breakdowns by:
These statistics should be used to see latest trends in NEET rates for 16 to 24 year olds. Trends are assessed by comparing the latest quarter’s data with the same period in an earlier year to account for seasonal effects.
Data is provided up to and including October to December 2025.
As quarter four (October to December) 2025 is the latest data available and the first full quarter of the 2025/26 academic year, commentary in this release focuses mainly on this quarter.
See 'Other NEET sources' section for further information on related statistics on:
Feedback
We would welcome feedback on any aspect of this publication at Post16.STATISTICS@education.gov.uk.
Find out how and why we collect, process and publish these statistics.
These statistics are undergoing a development. They have been developed under the guidance of the Head of Profession for Statistics and published to involve users and stakeholders at an early stage in assessing their suitability and quality.
They have been produced as far as possible in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics.
This can be broadly interpreted to mean that these statistics are:
Find out more about the standards we follow to produce these statistics through our Standards for official statistics published by DfE guidance (opens in new tab).
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