Figures from the Office for National Statistics show there were about 987,000 young people aged 16 to 24 who were neets in October to December last year, up from 877,000 in the fourth quarter of 2023 and the highest level since 2013.

Experts say the rise in the number of neets comes after years of underfunding for employment support, alongside the impact from Covid lockdowns and a sharp rise in youth mental ill-health. The ONS said there were issues with the quality of its labour force survey, meaning the data should be treated with caution, but experts said there had been a clear rise in neets in recent years.