What does NEET mean?
NEET stands for Not in Education, Employment or Training. It is a statistical term describing young people who, during the period being measured, are not participating in education or training and are not in employment.
Is NEET the same as unemployed?
No. Unemployment is a labour-market definition. A young person who is NEET can be unemployed, but they can also be economically inactive – which can include people who are temporarily or long-term sick, caring for family, or otherwise not currently looking for or available for employment.
So unemployed young people can be NEET, but not every young person who is NEET is unemployed.
What is NET?
You may also see NET – Not in Education or Training. NET is broader than NEET. Someone who is not in education or training but is employed is NET but not NEET. This is why NET and NEET percentages should never be used as though they mean the same thing.
Does a person stay NEET permanently?
Not necessarily. NEET describes status during a particular statistical period. Young people move between education, employment, apprenticeships, unemployment and other activity. It is therefore better to write “young people who are NEET” than to use NEET as a label for a type of person.
Which ages are included?
That depends on the publication. The DfE annual England NEET release covers ages 16–24 using academic age, and also provides smaller age groups. The ONS publishes UK-wide quarterly NEET estimates using actual age. Always check which series is being quoted.
What is academic age?
Academic age means age at the start of the academic year, defined using age at 31 August. That can differ from someone’s actual age when surveyed, which is what a household survey records.
Where does the national NEET estimate come from?
The DfE annual England estimate uses the Labour Force Survey. It is therefore an estimate from a sample rather than an administrative count of every young person. DfE warns that lower recent response rates have increased sampling variability, so short-term movements should be interpreted cautiously.
What about local-authority NEET data?
DfE also publishes 16–17 local-authority management information from NCCIS. That is a different source and can include activity not known. Do not compare a local “NEET or not known” percentage directly with the national 16–24 Labour Force Survey estimate.
See the England NEET series by age and over time, with confidence intervals, in the Explorer.