The DfE has released the latest statistics on the number of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) which shows that the number of 16-18-year-olds classed as NEET has shown a small increase from 195,000 in the first quarter of 2010 to 198,000 at the end of June, but a marked decrease on this time last year. This means figures for this spring are at the lowest of any other spring quarter since 2005. Figures for 19-24 year-olds have dropped from 733,000 to 677,000.
So is the number of young people NEET improving or getting worse?
For 16-year-olds, there are currently 30,000 or 5% of the cohort currently NEET, the lowest level for five years. However, this can be explained by an increase in the numbers in learning.
For 17-year-olds, there are currently 68,000 or10.2% of the cohort currently NEET. This figure has fluctuated considerably in the last five years, but show a marked drop since 2009, when figures reached 93,000.
For 18-year-olds, there are currently 99,000 or 15% of the cohort currently NEET. This figure is remains higher than five years ago and is three times higher than the number of 16-year-olds NEET. This is explained by falling numbers in employment.
How have the statistics been interpreted?
The statistics indicate that opportunities for 18-year-olds to enter higher education, employment or training are decreasing and constraints such as competition for places and fewer jobs are increasing. Research by ippr and the Private Equity Foundation appears to back this up, highlighting new concerns about the risk of becoming NEET for those young people with both A-levels and degree qualifications, with new analysis suggesting that one in ten young people with A levels are NEET, as are one in ten graduates. However, the Daily Telegraph took a different slant, and quoted campaign group Migrationwatch UK, which claimed a link between the increase in the number of young people who are NEET over the past five years and immigration. A study by the University of York shows how relatively inexpensive youth support projects can produce major public finance savings, and warns that cuts in such programmes could result in significant rises in public expenditure.
Volunteering is increasingly being touted as a valid alternative and stepping stone to education and employment. Universities Minister David Willetts has urged students who fail to get on to a degree course this year to take up volunteering to enhance their CVs. Evidence from the Prince's Trust also suggests that young people themselves see volunteering as enhancing the skills they need to find a job. Forthcoming research from the NYA shows increased awareness of volunteering amongst young people as a means of increasing their employment-related skills and making themselves more attractive to employers.
The National Youth Agency (NYA) has developed an Engagement Network, as part of our work with the LG Association, supported through top-sliced funding for local authorities. The network is designed to work with and advise local authorities on their provision and services for young people classed as NEET, and to establish new processes for involving NEET young people in developing the local offer | 
