The number of young people in the United Kingdom who are neither working nor in education has approached the one-million mark, according to official data. Against this backdrop, a government adviser warned that the long-held belief that each successive generation would live better than the last “is now beginning to unravel.”
According to the Office for National Statistics, in the final three months of last year the number of people aged 16–24 who were not in education, employment, or training reached 957,000—12.8% of the entire age group. By comparison, the figure stood at 946,000 between July and September. The number of young women in this category rose by 13,000, while the number of men fell by 2,000. In total, 510,000 men and 448,000 women were classified as NEET.
Concerns over young people’s position in the labor market are intensifying: the unemployment rate among Britons aged 16–24 exceeds the EU average. At the same time, the data show that the number of economically inactive young people—those neither seeking work nor studying—fell by 34,000 over the quarter but remains high at 547,000.
The causes of rising unemployment and inactivity among young people are being examined by a government commission led by former health secretary Alan Milburn. Its findings are expected to be published in the summer.
Speaking on Times Radio ahead of the release of the latest figures, Milburn said anxiety is growing across society: the current generation of young people faces weaker prospects for employment and home ownership, while also coming under pressure from social media and the spread of artificial intelligence. “There is a broader fear felt by parents and grandparents—that their children … will live worse lives than we did. For the first time in a century, that feeling is emerging,” he said. “It seems to me that the social contract—the idea that each generation will live better than the last—is now breaking down.”
The statistics office explained that the rise in the number of NEETs is driven primarily by higher unemployment rather than economic inactivity. The number of people aged 16–24 actively seeking work rose to 411,000—45,000 more than in July–September 2025 and 19,000 more than in October–December 2024.
A number of economists and business groups link the rise in youth unemployment—which has reached an 11-year high—to the government’s decision to raise employers’ national insurance contributions, as well as to its attempt to equalize minimum pay rates for younger and older workers.
The Resolution Foundation think tank has urged finance minister Rachel Reeves to use the spring forecast, due to be presented next week, to announce a pause in the equalization of minimum wages. The organization also proposes raising the upper age limit for a guaranteed paid job for those who have been unemployed for 18 months from 21 to 24. “Swift action could help prevent these worrying trends from hardening into a prolonged crisis,” said the foundation’s senior economist, Louise Murphy.
Further concerns center on the impact of artificial intelligence on entry-level positions for graduates. European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde said on Thursday that AI has so far supported productivity growth in the euro area and has not led to the “waves of job cuts that had been feared,” though the regulator is monitoring developments closely.
Even so, on the same day two companies explicitly cited technological change as a driver of large-scale layoffs in the United Kingdom. The retail technology company Ocado said it plans to cut about 1,000 jobs as part of a cost-reduction effort and the rollout of AI to improve efficiency. At the same time, advertising group WPP announced a far-reaching restructuring in response to risks linked to the advance of artificial intelligence, including asset sales and staff reductions.