New research on the UK’s near one million young people aged 16 to 24 who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) reveals that in Wales nearly seven in ten (69%) are economically inactive – meaning they are not currently looking or available for work.

Moreover, the proportion of young people NEET at 15% is higher in Wales than in all the other nations of the UK. This suggests that economic inactivity needs to be an even bigger focus for reducing NEET rates in Wales than in other parts of the UK.

Researchers from Learning and Work Institute (L&W), the organisation behind the report, warn that this could both harm these young people’s life prospects and have a wider scarring effect on economic growth and society.

Across the UK, many young people who are not currently in education, employment or training have a health condition or disability. Having a health condition makes it more likely that a young person will be NEET and this trend is even more pronounced in Wales where nearly one third of young people who say they have a health condition are NEET.

The Welsh Government introduced a Young Person’s Guarantee for 16-24-year-olds in 2021, providing support to gain a place in education or training, help to get into work or self-employment. Since its launch, over 48,500 young people have been supported to access employability and skills programmes. More than 6,000 of those young people have progressed into employment and more than 724 have started their own business.

Whilst this has been a positive step, L&W’s research suggests more action is needed to target economic inactivity, particularly around health conditions amongst young people. This is likely to require greater investment in this area, and stronger coordination between support for health, skills and employability.

Furthermore, NEET rates in Wales peak at 23 years of age (24%), which is higher and later than the peak in Scotland (22% at 22 years old) and England (15% at 22 years old). With one in four 23-year-olds NEET in Wales, L&W suggests Welsh Government should examine eligibility for its key schemes within the Young Person’s Guarantee, such as the flagship Jobs Growth Wales+ that is currently only available for 16–19-year-olds.

Joshua Miles, Director for Wales at Learning and Work Institute, said:

“Far too many young people are neither earning or learning and this problem is particularly acute in Wales, risking long-term harm to young people’s career prospects. Welsh Government has put in place several measures as part of its Young Person’s Guarantee and this has been a step in the right direction. However, greater investment so that key elements of the guarantee, such as Jobs Growth Wales+, are available to those beyond age 19 should be considered along with a much stronger focus on tackling economic inactivity caused by ill-health.”