While 948,000 young Britons are now economically inactive, an additional 258,200 young foreign workers joined the British economy in the same post-pandemic period, according to a new report.
The investigation centres on British nationals aged 16 to 24, who are not in employment, education, or training—classified as ‘Neets’—whose presence on company payrolls fell by 49,000 since the pandemic. In total there are now almost 200,000 more Neets in the UK than before the COVID-19 outbreak and its management.
In contrast, employment among non-European Union migrants under 25 rose by 315% between January 2020 and December 2023, with sectors such as hospitality and retail hiring these young workers. Current indicators point to this pattern diverging even further in the 2024–25 financial year, with parallel growth in both the total number of Neets who are British citizens and migrant employees.
The research, from the Tory/centrist Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), is available to download here. It claims that one in eight young people is now a Neet:
- over 250,000 are economically inactive due to health issues, including reported anxiety, depression and similar conditions have risen sharply;
- 128,000 young people cited these illnesses in 2023, an increase of 36,000 since the pandemic;
- a “hidden” group of Neets exist who do not claim benefits/public assistance—but typically rely on support from their (low-income) parents;
- employers who prefer placing overseas recruits into jobs normally taken by British school-leavers.
While the CSJ authors propose measures aimed both at the domestic and international workforce, it’s not clear if these will meet the challenges of Britain’s changing population.
