LONDON, Aug. 27 (Xinhua) -- Nearly one million young people aged 16 to 24 in the United Kingdom were not in education, employment or training (NEET) in the second quarter of 2026, official data showed on Thursday.
The number stood at 981,000 in the April-June period, or 13 percent of the age group, down by about 30,000 from the previous quarter but up by 30,000 from a year earlier, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Elizabeth Gerard, deputy director of the Learning and Work Institute, said the latest figures showed that the NEET rate among 16- to 24-year-olds remained above its level a year ago and was still on a longer-term upward trend.
More than half of young people who are NEET are economically inactive, meaning they are neither in work or education nor actively seeking or available for work, Gerard said.
She added that too many young people were struggling to make the transition from education into sustainable employment as they entered adulthood.
"Businesses want to hire more young people, but rising cost pressures have made that hugely challenging," Hannah Larsen, policy manager at the British Chambers of Commerce, said.
She said businesses should be encouraged to help tackle the youth jobs crisis, while the pressures they face should also be taken into account.
