LONDON – New data published today by the Office for National Statistics shows that 948,000 young people in Britain are not in education, employment, or training (NEET). While this number is staggering, the problem is not new. In 2000, the NEET rate was 13.7%, compared to today’s 12.8%.

Impetus’ Youth Jobs Gap research has identified several key factors driving youth unemployment. Uncontrollable characteristics like socioeconomic background, special educational needs and disabilities, and hometown can intersect to make a young person up to three times more likely to become NEET. However, strong educational qualifications are protective: every step up the qualifications ladder halves a young person’s chance of being NEET.

As hundreds of thousands of teenagers receive their GCSE results today, we are reminded that while holistic interventions for NEET young people are vital, the pathway to becoming NEET most often begins in school.

Susannah Hardyman MBE, CEO of Impetus, said:

The indefensible numbers of young people neither earning nor learning has become an entrenched problem in the UK, demanding significant government action. Too often, however, we’re looking in the wrong place for solutions.

"By waiting until young people leave school unemployed, we’ve already missed our best opportunity to prevent these outcomes. Schools know who’s most at risk: it’s the young people who are persistently absent, disengaged, or on track to miss out on their GCSEs. Our Youth Jobs Gap research shows that good educational qualifications are the single greatest protective factor against becoming NEET, with good GCSE passes halving a young person’s chance of unemployment. With record absenteeism and a stubborn and widening attainment gap, youth unemployment looms as a long-term crisis – but this is not inevitable.

"To make real progress, Government needs a cohesive strategy that aligns education and employment policy, targeting the precise barriers young people face. Only then can a Youth Guarantee deliver transformational change, for NEET young people and for Britain’s economy.

About the Youth Jobs Gap

Impetus’ Youth Jobs Gap is a groundbreaking collection of reports investigating the link between education and employment outcomes. The latest Youth Jobs Gap report, published in May 2025, reveals how layers of disadvantage affect young people’s chances of not being in employment, education, or training (NEET).

Working with The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR), Impetus analysed the government’s Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset to explore how combinations of characteristics impact NEET rates compared to the average. For the first time it shows the links between socioeconomic background, level of qualification, identity characteristics and employment outcomes, giving us the clearest picture to date of the factors associated with employment outcomes for different groups of young people. 

About Impetus

Impetus transforms the education and employment outcomes of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. We do this by using our deep expertise and high calibre networks to give the best non-profits in these sectors the essential ingredients to have a real and lasting impact. Through a powerful combination of long-term funding, direct capacity building support from our experienced team and our pro bono partners, alongside research and policy influencing to drive lasting systems change, we work towards a society where all young people can thrive in school, pass their exams and unlock the doors to sustained employment, for a fulfilling life.

To find out more about Impetus, visit impetus.org.uk.

For media enquiries, please contact alex.freeman@impetus.org.uk or call 07414 405 029.

For case studies, please contact Mangala Nanda, Chief Learning Officer at Generation UK, at mangala@generation.org.