The number nobody can politely ignore anymore
In January to March 2026, 1.01 million young people aged 16 to 24 in the UK were not in education, employment or training.
That is 13.5% of the age group. It is also the first time the number has gone above one million since 2013.
Those figures come from the House of Commons Library briefing on NEET young people, published on 5 June 2026. A few weeks later, the UK Government's Young People and Work: Interim Report, led by Alan Milburn, set out the deeper question behind the data: why are so many young people becoming detached from work, education and training in the first place?
Read together, the two reports tell us something important.
This is not just a youth unemployment problem. It is not just a skills problem. And it is definitely not a simple story about young people not wanting to work.
It is a participation problem.
What did the latest NEET figures show?
The House of Commons Library briefing reported that 1.01 million 16 to 24 year olds were NEET in January to March 2026.
That was an increase of 55,000 from the previous quarter and 89,000 from the previous year.
The rate for 18 to 24 year olds was even higher, at 15.8%.
But the most important detail is not only how many young people are NEET. It is what kind of NEET crisis we are now dealing with.
According to the Commons Library, 39% of NEET young people were unemployed, meaning they were not in work but were looking for work and available to start.
The remaining 61% were economically inactive, meaning they were not working and not looking for work.
If a young person is unemployed and actively looking, the problem may be vacancies, interviews, confidence, applications, training, or employer matching. Those things are difficult, but at least the person is still visibly in the labour market.
If a young person is economically inactive, the route back is usually more complicated. Health, disability, anxiety, caring responsibilities, previous rejection, lack of confidence, transport, trauma, family pressure, and long-term disconnection can all be part of the picture.
This is why the policy conversation has to move beyond "get them a job".
What is the government really saying?
The Young People and Work: Interim Report is unusually clear on one point: Britain does not have a coherent participation system for young people.
We have schools. We have colleges. We have Jobcentres. We have health services. We have employers. We have youth programmes. We have benefits. We have charities and social enterprises doing serious work on the ground.
But the report argues that these pieces do not reliably join up around the young person.
A young person can be known to a school because of absence. Known to a GP because of anxiety. Known to a family member because they have stopped leaving the house. Known to a Jobcentre because they are claiming Universal Credit. Known to an employer only as a weak CV in a pile of stronger ones.
But being known by different services is not the same as being supported through a route.
The interim report puts the problem bluntly: responsibility is dispersed, data is not shared properly, and no single part of the system owns the journey from education into work.
Is this really about young people not wanting to work?
No. That is one of the laziest readings of the data.
The government review reported that 84% of NEET young people surveyed said they wanted to find a job, education, or training.
That does not sound like a generation with no ambition.
It sounds like a generation trying to move through systems that often ask the wrong questions, intervene too late, or offer support that does not match the real barrier.
Some young people need skills. Some need work experience. Some need mental health support. Some need a patient adult who can stay with them through the messy bit. Some need an employer who can see potential before polish. And some need someone to notice that the interest they already have might be the first doorway into a real career path.
That is why this matters for Fentro.
What is driving the rise in youth inactivity?
The report points to several forces working together, not one neat cause.
Health is a major part of the story. The government review says the proportion of young people who are NEET due to a work-limiting health condition has risen sharply over the past decade, with mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions becoming much more prominent.
That does not mean mental health is an excuse. It means employment policy cannot pretend health sits somewhere else.
The labour market is another part of the story. Entry-level roles have become less plentiful, less forgiving, and often less human to access. Recruitment is increasingly remote, automated, and filtered through portals before a young person ever gets to speak to someone.
The review also notes that apprenticeship starts for young people have declined significantly, and that the first rungs of the old career ladder have weakened.
This is crucial... the first rungs. Because if those rungs disappear, young people with strong family networks often find another way up. Someone knows someone. Someone can explain the route. Someone can open a door.
Young people without those networks are much more likely to be left outside, not because they have less talent, but because they have less access.
What is the Youth Guarantee?
The Youth Guarantee is one of the UK Government's main policy responses.
It was set out in the Get Britain Working White Paper and is intended to give young people access to further learning, help to get a job, or an apprenticeship.
The Commons Library briefing notes that the Autumn Budget 2025 announced £820 million for the Youth Guarantee over the three years from 2026/27 to 2028/29.
The wider package includes youth hubs, a Jobs Guarantee, support for Universal Credit claimants, work experience, training placements, and apprenticeship measures.
On paper, the direction is right. Young people need visible routes. They need support earlier. They need help that joins up learning, work, health, employers, and local services.
The question is whether the route will feel real to the young person standing at the start of it.
What is policy still missing?
Policy often talks about young people as if they are a category to be moved. NEET. Inactive. Claimant. At risk. Hard to reach. Low confidence. Not work-ready.
Those labels can be useful for statistics and funding. But they can also hide the person underneath.
A young person might not see themselves in a generic employability programme. They might not respond to another CV workshop. They might not believe that a government guarantee has anything to do with their life.
But they might care deeply about gaming, football, beauty, cars, food, music, sport, animals, fitness, fashion, social media, helping people, or making things. And inside those interests are real industries, real employers, real skills, and real career pathways. That is the missing bridge.
What does this mean for Fentro?
Fentro exists in the gap between potential and route.
The government is right to say that Britain needs a stronger participation system. But participation does not begin with a policy document. It begins when a young person can see a next step that feels possible. This is the whole ethos of Fentro - the work is interest-led.
Through the Spark Model, we start with what a young person already cares about, then map that interest into a wider career ecosystem. Through Discovery Days, we put young people in real spaces with real employers, so they can see the hidden jobs behind the thing they already love.
Because telling a young person there are opportunities in sport, gaming, beauty, media, construction, or tech is one thing. Letting them stand in the room and realise the door is not locked is another.
That is the kind of participation policy has to make possible.
What should we take from the reports?
The latest government findings are important because they move the conversation away from blame.
The evidence does not support the idea that young people simply do not want to work. It does not support the idea that another employability course will fix everything. It does not support the idea that education, health, welfare, employers and local services can keep working in separate lanes.
The real message is harder, but more useful.
Young people are not falling out of the system because one thing has gone wrong. They are falling through gaps between systems that do not join up early enough, personally enough or practically enough. And that means the response has to be more human.
More local. More connected. More employer-facing. More health-aware. More honest about the fact that talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not.
That is the work Fentro has been created to do.
FAQs
What did the 2026 government review say about NEET young people?
The Young People and Work: Interim Report said the UK is facing a serious youth participation problem. It highlighted rising economic inactivity, health and disability barriers, weaker entry-level routes into work, and a lack of joined-up accountability between education, health, welfare and employment systems.
How many young people are NEET in the UK?
The House of Commons Library briefing published on 5 June 2026 reported that 1.01 million people aged 16 to 24 were NEET in January to March 2026. That was 13.5% of young people in that age group.
What does economically inactive mean?
Economically inactive means a person is not working and is not actively looking for work. In January to March 2026, 61% of NEET young people were economically inactive, according to the House of Commons Library.
What is the Youth Guarantee?
The Youth Guarantee is a UK Government policy intended to give young people access to further learning, employment support or apprenticeships. It includes youth hubs, employment support, work experience, training placements and apprenticeship measures.
Why does this matter in Wales?
Wales has its own devolved responsibilities across education, health, skills and youth policy, but young people in Wales are still affected by UK-wide labour market conditions, welfare policy and employer behaviour. That means the response has to be both local and joined up.
Sources
Young people and work: interim report, Department for Work and Pensions, updated 19 June 2026.
NEET: Young people not in education, employment or training, House of Commons Library, published 5 June 2026.