Region tops table for most young people without work or training

Almost one in five of the region’s 16 to 24-year-olds were considered NEET – not in education, employment or training – at the end of last year.

The 133,000 represent 19.5 per cent of young people in that age group – the most in England and the most NEETs in Yorkshire ever recorded at the end of a fourth quarter of a year and the second highest at any time. The number of NEETs in the region dropped from the end of the third quarter of 2011 when it was 157,000.

NEET figures are always higher at the end of third quarters as these include a year group of school leavers who are no longer in education and have not secured work or training. Nationally almost a million young people are now classed as NEET.

The revelation came a week after unemployment figures showed that the numbers of 16 to 24-year-olds not in work increased by 22,000 to 1.04 million in the three months to December.

Latest statistics from the Department for Education also show that 19,000 more young people aged 16-24 were considered NEET in the final three months of 2011, compared with the same period in 2010. Altogether, 958,000 young people aged 16-24 were considered NEET in the fourth quarter of 2011. For the same period in 2010, the figure was 939,000.

The data also show that there are 148,000 more NEETs than five years ago.

A Government spokesman said officials were spending almost £1bn extra over the next three years to help get young people into education, training and jobs.

“The number of young people who are not in education, employment or training has been too high for too long – we are determined to bring the numbers down,” he said. “We are making sure that young people have the skills they need to get ready for work - creating the biggest apprenticeships programme our country has ever seen and overhauling vocational education, so all employers can be confident about the rigour of our qualifications.”

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