neither in employment nor in education or training

Youth not in employment, education or training (NEET)

This indicator presents the share of young people who are not in employment, education or training (NEET), as a percentage of the total number of young people in the corresponding age group, by gender.

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This indicator presents the share of young people who are not in employment, education or training (NEET), as a percentage of the total number of young people in the corresponding age group, by gender. Young people in education include those attending part-time or full-time education, but exclude those in non-formal education and in educational activities of very short duration. Employment is defined according to the OECD/ILO Guidelines and covers all those who have been in paid work for at least one hour in the reference week of the survey or were temporarily absent from such work. Therefore NEET youth can be either unemployed or inactive and not involved in education or training. Young people who are neither in employment nor in education or training are at risk of becoming socially excluded – individuals with income below the poverty-line and lacking the skills to improve their economic situation.

• Measuring the labour market
• Directorate for Education and Skills
• Youth employment and social policies
• Labour markets surveillance
• Education and skills

Access the source dataset in Data Explorer

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'NEETS' and 'new unemployables': Why some young adults aren't working

Although the  unemployment rate  has spent 30 months at or below  below 4%  — a near record — not everyone who wants a job has one. And not everyone even wants a job at all.

Some, referred to as “NEETs,” which stands for “not in employment, education, or training,” are opting out of the labor force largely because they are discouraged by their economic standing.

Others, alternatively, are well-qualified but often younger candidates who are struggling to find positions, comprising a contingent of “new unemployables,” according to a recent report by  Korn Ferry . 

Among 16- to 24-year-olds, the unemployment rate rose to 9% in May, which is “typical,” according to Alí Bustamante, a labor economist and director of the Worker Power and Economic Security program at the Roosevelt Institute, a liberal think tank based in New York City.

Although the youth unemployment rate fell below 7% in 2023, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, such lows were “emblematic of how hot the labor market was at that point,” Bustamante said.

“9% is basically what we should be expecting during relatively good economic times for younger workers,” he added.

‘NEETS’ feel ‘left out and left behind’

Still, some young adults in the U.S. are neither working nor learning new skills.

In 2023, about 11.2% of young adults ages 15 to 24 in the U.S. were considered as NEETs, according to the International Labour Organization.

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In other words, roughly one in 10 young people are “being left out and left behind in many ways,” Bustamante said.

Even though “that’s typically the norm,” he said, “we should be expecting these rates to be lower.”

Young men, especially, are increasingly disengaged, according to Julia Pollak, a labor economist at ZipRecruiter.

“The NEET trend is mostly a male phenomenon,” she said.

Pollak explained that’s in part due to declining opportunities in traditionally male occupations, such as construction and manufacturing, while “women’s enrollment in schooling, education outcomes, and employment outcomes have mostly trended upwards.”

‘Talent hoarding’ has led to ‘new unemployables’

According to Korn Ferry’s report, a “perfect storm” has also created a glut of “new unemployables,” or highly trained workers who struggle to find job opportunities.

“Employers are holding on to the talent they have and increasingly focusing on talent mobility,” said David Ellis, senior vice president for global talent acquisition transformation at Korn Ferry.

This “talent hoarding” has led to fewer available job openings even for well-qualified candidates, he said.

At the same time, firms are scaling back on new hires,  limiting the opportunities  at the entry level, as well.

While the teen employment rate is the highest it has been in over a decade, early 20-somethings are struggling to find jobs, Pollak said. “It’s the 20- to 24-year-olds that saw a massive drop off in the labor force participation during the pandemic, and who have lagged behind ever since.”

Overall, hiring projections for the class of 2024 fell 5.8% from last year, according to a  report from the National Association of Colleges and Employers , or NACE.

As more candidates compete for fewer positions, stretches of unemployment are also lengthening. Now, the number of people unemployed for longer than six months is up 21%, Korn Ferry found.

‘Unemployable’ to employable

Despite those trends in the job market, “all is not lost,” Ellis said.

“Don’t wait to reach out,” he advised. Get back in touch with former employers or colleagues through LinkedIn or email and set up informational interviews. After that initial approach, ask for any job leads or contacts.

In the meantime, make yourself more visible by writing about noteworthy topics in the industry and  updating your resume  to include keywords and so-called “title tags,” which highlight important elements at the top.

Finally, don’t limit yourself to roles that include a promotion or a raise, Ellis also advised. Rather, aim for a “career lattice,” which could entail taking lower position to gain skills that will pay dividends later.

Jessica Dickler is a personal finance writer for CNBC.

Ana Teresa Solá is a personal finance reporter for CNBC.

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Youth and the labour market

Youth not in employment, education or training (neet).

Participation in employment, education or training is important for youth to become established in the labour market and achieve self-sufficiency. Record high unemployment rates in a number of countries have hit youth especially hard. This has resulted in many youth unable to find work and in other youth withdrawing from the labour market entirely, becoming “inactive”.

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• OECD Employment Outlook
• International student assessment (PISA)
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• OECD Education Statistics
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This indicator presents the share of young people who are not in employment, education or training (NEET), as a percentage of the total number of young people in the corresponding age group, by gender. Young people in education include those attending part-time or full-time education, but exclude those in non-formal education and in educational activities of very short duration. Employment is defined according to the OECD/ILO Guidelines and covers all those who have been in paid work for at least one hour in the reference week of the survey or were temporarily absent from such work. Therefore NEET youth can be either unemployed or inactive and not involved in education or training. Young people who are neither in employment nor in education or training are at risk of becoming socially excluded – individuals with income below the poverty-line and lacking the skills to improve their economic situation.

• NEET Youth in the Aftermath of the Crisis: Challenges and Policies
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Author(s) OECD

VET toolkit for empowering NEETs

Eurostat: statistics on young people neither in employment nor in education or training (neets).

• Description

This article presents an overview of European Union (EU) statistics related to young people neither in employment nor in education or training (NEET). It provides information on the transition from education to work and focuses on the number of young people who find themselves disengaged from both education and the labour market.

Statistics on young people neither in employment nor in education or training

• Related intervention approaches

Not in education or employment: What's the problem?

Addressing the challenge of NEETS in the EU and beyond

Tackling the ever increasing challenge of young people not engaged in education, employment or training (NEETs) in the EU as well as in the neighbouring regions, the latest episode of the Skills Factory podcast involved Ummuhan Bardak, Expert on Labour Market Policies at the European Training Foundation, who shares updated research and expertise on the issue, its causes and future possible solutions.

“NEETs is a relatively new concept, not much used during the last two decades but now used as an indicator for understanding the wellbeing of youth” said Bardak.

According to statistics, the percentage of NEETs differs according to geographical location and socioeconomic context. For example, in 2019, the share of NEETs within the EU was 10%, with the lowest share in northern countries like Sweden and Denmark and highest share in Italy, Greece and Spain, at times reaching even 30%.

“Having high number of young people in this specific situation means there is a waste of young resources which could be used more efficiently either by training them better or by putting them in jobs that could contribute to the economy” added Bardak.

The episode also identifies the factors that are contributing to a worsening of the problem, not only in EU countries but also in neighbouring areas.

“The problem is exacerbated by other factors related to facilitating the transition from school to work such as a lack of support systems for career guidance and counselling, on-the-job training, work-based learning practises and the placement of young jobseekers in decent jobs. It is the whole system of labour markets and education system together which need to be combined” explained Bardak.

While the problem of NEETs is certainly related to education and employment regulations, gender is also a significant factor, with the latest figures confirming that women are more likely to be affected. 

Based on years of experience in this field, Bardak underscores the need, more than ever, to support  policymakers in the design and implementation of better policy interventions that serve the more vulnerable sectors of society and meet their needs for economic empowerment and social welfare.

This episode is the 18th episode broadcast by the European Training Foundation as part of its monthly Skills Factory Podcast series, which aims to raise awareness of issues related to human capital development, education, training and skills development in the EU neighbourhood.

Listen to the episode: https://anchor.fm/etf/episodes/18---Not-in-education-nor-employment-Whats-the-problem-e1kkrac/a-a86i58l

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More young men are becoming NEETs than women—not in employment, education, or training

There’s a growing cohort of Gen Zers who are rejecting life’s major milestones and becoming NEETs—that is, “not in employment, education, or training.” Many of them are college-educated men.

One in five young people around the world is currently a NEET, according to the International Labour Organization . In the U.S., this jumps to about 11.2% of young adults. Meanwhile in the U.K., almost 3 million Gen Zers are now classed as economically inactive.

Now, new research has shown that male Gen Z grads are more likely than women to be among those opting not to work or get some form of qualification.

Despite having just graduated, one in five men under the age of 25 is unemployed, Bloomberg’s analysis shows. And they’re not actively looking for work, either.

While the share of Gen Z female college grads participating in the workforce has steadily increased, the participation rate for their male counterparts has nose-dived.

Why aren’t male Gen Z grads working? 

The classes of 2023 and 2024 are confronting a tougher job market than those who graduated during the Great Resignation, when hiring rates and wages hit a record high .

It’s a trend that Lewis Maleh, CEO of the global recruitment agency Bentley Lewis, has witnessed too. While young college-educated women are making do by widening their job search, Maleh has seen their male counterparts try to wait it out.

“Women tend to be more flexible in accepting job offers, even if they’re not perfectly aligned with their career goals or are part-time or they are overqualified for,” he says.

“Men, on the other hand, often hold out for roles that align more closely with their ideal career path or offer what they perceive as adequate compensation and status.” 

Some male candidates have been airing their frustrations that the few jobs available right now don’t match their expectations, he says, “whereas female candidates often discuss strategies for making the best of available opportunities, focusing on skill development and networking even in less than ideal roles.” 

Essentially, it’s not that young men don’t want to work—it’s that they want the right type of work.

Men have lost the upper hand

Another factor that comes into play, Maleh adds, is that men no longer have the upper hand in certain sectors that they once dominated. 

For years, male students have enjoyed more lucrative roles straight out of university thanks to their majors: A Bankrate study published in September 2023 found that men accounted for almost four out of every five graduates with bachelor’s degrees in the 20 highest-paying fields.

However, male-dominated industries like technology and finance are currently experiencing mass layoffs and grad program slowdowns , as they correct for overhiring during the pandemic and the economic uncertainty that followed.

“Holding out for that unicorn role”

It perhaps explains why men have “sky-high expectations,” Conor Hughes, a HR consultant, echoes.

“They want that dream job title, the perfect culture fit, and a supreme compensation package right out of the gate,” he explains. “Instead of being open to decent opportunities as stepping stones, a lot of them would rather ride the unemployment wave while holding out for that unicorn role.”

After all, that’s what they’ve seen their predecessors enjoy. 

“This shift might make men more selective or hesitant, waiting for roles that match their expectations or past norms, which could lead to longer periods of unemployment,” Maleh agrees.

“There’s an underlying narrative, often unspoken, about what constitutes ‘acceptable’ work for men,” Maleh concludes, adding that societal pressure for men to be breadwinners deters them from taking what they might view as “lesser” jobs—even temporarily. 

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New Delhi : Nearly one in three young Indians between the ages of 15 and 29 is not engaged in either education, employment, or training, and the numbers are even worse when it comes to women alone, according to the latest Multiple Indicator Survey (MIS) report of the government’s National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), released earlier this month.

The main purpose of the survey, conducted over 2.76 lakh households in 2021, is to collect data on national indicators of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, a set of 17 objectives to address various global issues, including gender inequality, poverty, and education.

India’s numbers for young people not in education, employment, or training (NEET), reveal a stark contrast with the global average cited by the UN, which is just 22 per cent.

But what’s perhaps most remarkable about India’s numbers is the gender gap. Only 15.4 per cent of young men between the ages of 15 and 29 are NEET, compared to 51.7 per cent of young women.

So, are Indian women slacking off? No, they’re too busy doing unpaid domestic labour at home.

According to the report, nearly 90 per cent of NEET young women — compared to just 7.3 per cent of NEET men — reported that they were attending to domestic duties when asked about the activities they were engaged in during the seven days preceding the date of the survey.

When asked about the survey’s findings, economist and author Lekha Chakraborty, a professor at the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, said she was “not surprised” by the gender skew in the NEET estimates.

“As we policymakers have observed, it’s the burden of the care economy that prevents women from entering the workforce, which is why women tend to be overrepresented in these figures,” explained Chakraborty, who specialises in gender and macroeconomics.

Another reason, she added, was that many families in India see marriage as the “economic future” of women rather than employment.

These social and cultural factors are among the reasons India may struggle to leverage its so-called ‘demographic dividend’, which is said to occur when there is a high working-age population in a country.

The 15-29 age group makes up more than a quarter of the population of India, according to the survey’s 2021 projections.

Also read:   India has $1 trillion digital dream, but 73% youth lack basic email skills, shows NSSO survey

UP has biggest NEET gender gap

The NEET gender gap is even greater in some states. It’s highest in Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state.

According to the survey’s projections for the year 2021, Uttar Pradesh has a population of about 23 crore, comprising 12 crore men and 11 crore women. About 30 per cent, or 6.8 crore, of this population is in the 15-29 age group (3.23 crore women, 3.67 crore men).

The MIS report shows that while only 16 per cent (or one in 6) of the state’s young men were NEET, about 60 per cent (nearly every two in three) of women in the same age group fell into this category.

After UP comes West Bengal, where 15.3 per cent of men and 58.6 per cent of women are not in employment, education, or training. Gujarat, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Assam and Bihar follow.

Northeastern states, meanwhile, have the smallest gender gaps, the data shows.

In Arunachal Pradesh, only 4.2 per cent of young men and 5.8 per cent of women are NEET. The figures are 3.5 per cent and 7.7 per cent in Mizoram and 8.1 per cent and 18.1 percent in Nagaland for men and women respectively.

Why NEET women aren’t looking for jobs

Even for youth who are neither employed nor in education or training, aspirations can still run high. But here, too, there seems to be a gender gap.

The survey data shows that considerably more NEET men than women are available for work or seeking job opportunities.

The report shows that 65.3 per cent (every two in three) of the NEET men are available for a job or looking for one. However, this holds true for barely 6 per cent of NEET women.

To explain the possible reasons for this, Chakraborty cited a 2013 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) study conducted by Nobel laureate Abhijit Banerjee and his colleagues, titled ‘Marry for What? Caste and Mate Selection in Modern India’.

“In that MIT study, the authors had argued that marriage is an economic decision for women. Money spent on marriage is considered an investment. That’s a tool of financial empowerment for women in India. So, parents or social norms perceive that for women, rather than education or employment, in the long run, marrying her off in a better house tends to be the bigger decision,” she said.

“Women, when they get married in a house, they abruptly quit their jobs or education since their marriage is considered their economic future. So these kinds of norms and the economic burden of care largely explain the overrepresentation of young women in NEET estimates,” Chakraborty added.

According to her, the high prevalence of NEET women is an issue that is unlikely to be solved without social change.

“The perception around women’s economic future in society also needs to change. As long as marriage is a preferred economic outcome for the future over employment or education, this issue is going to persist,” she said.

Chakraborty added that where the government can help is in reducing the caretaking burdens on women.

“The government needs to offer a comprehensive package for reducing the care burden after assessing where exactly it lies the most. Once women are given more time off these duties, only then can they appear at work,” she said.

(Edited by Asavari Singh)

Also read: Burdened by domestic work, nearly 50% of India’s urban women don’t step out even once a day

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