More young find themselves out of work

The proportion of young people not in employment, education or training (Neet) has gone up in the last year, a government report has revealed.

By The Newsroom

Published 25th Feb 2011, 08:31 BST

New figures show that the proportion of Neet 19 to 24-year-olds in England rose to 18.8 per cent in the last quarter of 2010, up 1.4 points from the same quarter in 2009.

Altogether 777,000 19-to-24 year olds were classed as Neet at the end of 2010, up from 718,000 in the final quarter of 2009, the Department for Education said.

The latest data from the Labour Force Survey also revealed the proportion of Neet 16 to 18-year-olds went down to 8.5 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2010, a decrease of 0.7 points on the end of 2009.

The figures also showed that 15.6 per cent of people aged 16-24 are classified as neet, up 0.8 points on the last quarter of 2009.

A government spokesman said the number was still too high.

England