The latest data from the Office for National Statistics shows 957,000 young people in the UK are NEET. This is 238,000 more than four years ago when the rate was 10.3%. YFF uses a two-year survey to compare long-term and short-term NEET groups. This summary presents the insights from their analysis. Key Findings show:

The findings from our analysis indicate that long-term NEET status is concentrated among young people who are disabled, are economically inactive, in receipt of benefits and who have low qualifications. These are characteristics that are also often found to be overlapping.

A large majority of disabled NEET young people are NEET long-term. Among disabled young people who are NEET, 67% are long term NEET, compared to 34% who are short-term NEET.

Long-term NEET status is strongly concentrated among those who are economically inactive rather than unemployed. Of the long-term NEET group, 83% are economically inactive.

Educational attainment is also strongly linked to duration of time spent NEET. Among NEET young people who have not achieved a level 2 or above qualification and are 18 years or older, 69% are long-term NEET.