Number of NEETs drops in Q1

New data on NEETs emerged from the ONS this morning. Key points below. Any thoughts, send them across ASAP as this story is breaking, e.g. is the fall in NEETs related to the cost of living crisis forcing people back into work?

• There was a decrease in the number of young people who were aged 16 to 24 years and not in education, employment or training (NEET) in January to March 2023, with the total currently estimated to be 770,000, down from 788,000 in October to December 2022.
• The percentage of all young people who were NEET in January to March 2023 was estimated at 11.3%, down 0.3 percentage points on the quarter (October to December 2022), but up 0.2 percentage points compared with pre-coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic levels (October to December 2019).
• The decrease in the number of young people who were NEET was entirely driven by young men, who saw a decrease of 26,000 on the quarter (from October to December 2022).
• The number of young people who were NEET and unemployed in January to March 2023 was estimated to be 295,000, a decrease of 3,000 on the quarter (from October to December 2022).
• There were an estimated 475,000 young people in the UK who were NEET and economically inactive, a decrease on the quarter (October to December 2022) of 15,000.