CSJ - British youth in crisis as nearly 1 million not in work or training

21 Nov 2025 01:32 PM

Nearly one million aged 16 to 24 were not in education, employment or training between July and September 2025, new data reveals

• 946,000 people aged 16 to 24 are now not in education, employment or training – almost 196,000 higher than 2019
• The rate of NEETs remains stubbornly high despite ministers making it a priority to get young people into work
• Calls for new effective tax cut for employers backed by Lord Blunkett and Jeremy Hunt ahead of crunch Budget

Despite a fall of 2,000 since the last quarter to 946,000, the number of NEETs remains 196,000 higher than five years ago, according to analysis of official figures by the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ).

The think tank is warning that British young people face a “toxic cocktail” of rising employment taxes, perverse incentives to claim benefits and a broken migration system.

The figures from the Office for National Statistics lay bare the youth worklessness crisis. Separate data from HMRC show that the number of people in payrolled work has fallen by 180,000 since last autumn’s Budget, including 44,000 under-25s.

Joe Shalam, Policy Director at the CSJ, said:

“Every single young person outside of mainstream work or training risks becoming a tragedy of wasted potential. The utter dysfunction in the labour market is holding back our economy.

“The Government needs to get on with reforming mental health benefits to expand NHS care and cutting the cost of employing youngsters left on the scrapheap. The Budget must set out a radical response to tackle the crisis facing British young people.”

The CSJ’s Wasted Youth report found that rising employment costs mean employers fear hiring young British workers. Instead, businesses are turning to non-EU migrants while young Brits are tempted out of the job market by surging mental health benefits.

Non-EU under-25s on payrolls increased by 315 per cent between 2020 and 2024 even as overall employment fell for under-25s. Earlier research from the think tank found combined benefits saw almost one million claimants taking home £2,500 more than a full-time worker on the national living wage after tax.

The CSJ is recommending urgent measures to get young people into work at next week Budget. This includes a Future Workforce Credit – £670 million effective tax cut for employers hiring NEETs that would cover 30 per cent of a NEET’s salary.

The proposal, backed by former Cabinet ministers Lord Blunkett and Jeremy Hunt MP, would be funded by removing the UC health element for under-22s. Employers would be eligible for the full credit after a NEET had achieved six months of continuous employment.

CSJ modelling based on similar interventions suggests the approach would get 120,000 young people into jobs while netting £765m in tax and welfare savings.

Other recommendations include:

• Reforming mental health benefits: Withdraw UC health and PIP from those with milder anxiety, depression or ADHD – equivalent to around 1.1 million people – and reset remaining awards to £103 per week. This would save £7.4bn by 2029/30, of which at least £1bn should be reinvested in radically expanded NHS Talking Therapies, social prescribing and employment support.
• Building a new Work and Health Service: Funded by £300m in savings, this would expand the ongoing WorkWell pilots to help more people with workplace adjustments, shifting the responsibility for fit notes away from overstretched GPs.
• Reinstating domestic job advertising rules: Require employers to advertise roles to UK workers before recruiting under the visa system.

NOTES TO EDITORS

A CSJ spokesperson is available for interview. For the full Wasted Youth report, with a foreword from Lord Blunkett and Jeremy Hunt, click here.

The latest figures for young people not in education, employment or training were published by the Office for National Statistics. The CSJ analysed HMRC PAYE data that showed there were 179,574 fewer payrolled jobs in October 2025 than there were in October 2024 and 44,454 payrolled under 25-year-olds. HMRC data breaking PAYE down by nationality and age showed non-EU migrants under-25 on payroll increased by 315 per cent between January 2020 and December 2024.