A NEET, an acronym for "Not in Education, Employment, or Training", is a person who is unemployed and not receiving an education or vocational training. The classification originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1990s, and its use has spread, in varying degrees, to other countries, including Canada, China, Japan, Serbia, South Korea and the United States. The NEET category includes the unemployed (individuals without a job and seeking one), as well as individuals outside the labour force (without a job and not seeking one). It is usually age-bounded to exclude people in old-age retirement. NEET frequently refers to youth or young adults, where NEET is distinct from youth unemployment. Generations with high NEET have been described as lost generations.
In the United Kingdom, the classification comprises people aged between 16 and 24. In Japan, the classification comprises people aged between 15 and 34 who are not employed, not engaged in housework, not enrolled in school or work-related training, and not seeking work.
A 2008 report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said the unemployment and NEET rates for people aged 16–24 in the majority of OECD countries fell in the past decade, attributed to increased participation in education.OECD Employment Outlook 2008. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. 2008. p. 27.
NEET is to be distinguished from the newly coined NLFET rate ("Neither in the Labour Force nor in Education or Training") used in the 2013 report on Global Employment Trends for Youth by the International Labour Organization. NLFET is similar to NEET but excludes unemployed youth (who are part of the work force).
United Kingdom
Knowledge of the term spread after it was used in a 1999 report by the Social Exclusion Unit (SEU).Robson, Karen. "The Afterlife of NEETs" . pp. 181–. In: Attewell, Paul; Newman, Katherine S. (eds) (2010). Growing Gaps: Educational Inequality Around the World. Oxford University Press.
Kraus, Katrin (2008). Work, Education and Employability. Peter Lang. p. 188. For the report, see . Social Exclusion Unit. July 1999. Accessed 25 August 2011. 25 August 2011. Before this, the phrase "status zero", which had a similar meaning, was used. Andy Furlong writes that the use of the term NEET became popular partly because of the negative connotations of having "no status".Furlong, Andy. "Not a very NEET solution representing problematic labour market transitions among early school-leavers" . Work, Employment & Society 20 (3): 553–569. September 2006. The classification is specifically redefined in other local government papers, such as "respondents who were out of work or looking for a job, looking after children or family members, on unpaid holiday or traveling, sick or disabled, doing voluntary work or engaged in another unspecified activity"; the acronym, however, has no agreed definition with respect to measurement, particularly in relation to defining economic inactivity. Karen Robson writes that the classification has "virtually usurped discussions of "youth unemployment" in the UK literature".Robson, pp. 181– . Scott Yates and Malcolm Payne say that initially there was a "holistic focus" on the NEET group by policy-makers which looked at the problems young people went through, but this changed as the NEET status became framed in negative terms—"as reflective of a raft of risks, problems and negative orientations on the part of young people".Yates, Scott; Payne, Malcolm. "Not so NEET? A Critique of the Use of ‘NEET’ in Setting Targets for Interventions with Young People" . Journal of Youth Studies 9 (3): 329–344. July 2006. NEET figures for England are published by the Department for Education (DfE)."16- to 18-year-olds not in education, employment or training (NEET)". Department for Education. 12 July 2011. Accessed 24 August 2011. Archived 24 August 2011. For a list of DfE publications about NEETs, see: "NEET" . Department for Education. Accessed 24 August 2011. The methodology used in calculating the number of NEETs aged 16–18 is different from that used for those aged 16–24. The first relies on a range of sources, the second on the Labour Force Survey. . Department for Education. 24 August 2011. Accessed 24 August 2011. 25 August 2011. See webpage .
A 2007 report commissioned by the Prince's Trust said almost a fifth of people aged 16–24 in England, Scotland, and Wales were NEETs; the proportion was lowest in Northern Ireland (13.8 percent). . The Prince’s Trust. April 2007. p. 13. Accessed 24 August 2011. 24 August 2011. The second-quarter figures for 2011 showed that 979,000 people in England between 16 and 24 were NEETs, accounting for 16.2 percent in that age group.Cook, Chris. "‘Neets’ account for 16% of young". Financial Times. 24 August 2011. Accessed 24 August 2011. Archived 24 August 2011.
For the brief, see: . Department for Education. 24 August 2011. Accessed 24 August 2011. 25 August 2011. See webpage . Between 1995 and 2008, the proportion of NEETs aged 16–18 in England remained fairly stable at around 8–11 percent."Young people not in education, employment or training (Vol 1)", p. 6. The Guardian reported in 2011 that, since 2003, there has been a 15.6 percent decrease in people aged 16–18 in employment, but a 6.8 percent increase in those in education and training.Shepherd, Jessica. "Record number of young people not in education, work or training" . The Guardian. 24 February 2011. Accessed 24 August 2011. NEET figures tend to peak in the third quarter, when school and university courses are ending."'Neet' youths figure at second-quarter high" . BBC News. 24 August 2011. Accessed 24 August 2011.
There is some stigma attached to the term NEET."Young people not in education, employment or training (Vol 1)", pp. 8–9. Simon Cox of BBC News said the word is "the latest buzzword for teenage drop-outs".Cox, Simon. "A 'Neet' solution" . BBC News. Accessed 24 August 2011.Abrams, Adam. Learning to Fail: How Society Lets Young People Down. Routledge. 2010. p. 2. He says "Neets are 20 times more likely to commit a crime and 22 times more likely to be a teenage mum", and that Barking and Dagenham has been called the country's "Neet capital". David Smith of The Times calls them "the yobs hanging around off-licences late into the night".Smith, David. . The Times. 7 January 2007. Accessed 25 August 2011. Archived 24 August 2011. According to Colin Webster, NEETs commit disproportionately large amounts of crime. Children with high levels of truancy and exclusions at school are likely to become NEETs.Webster, Colin (2007). Understanding Race and Crime. Open University Press. pp. 123–124.
Several schemes and ideas have been developed to reduce the number of NEETs. One of the main goals of the Connexions service, first piloted in 2001, is to reduce the number of NEETs. Most local authorities have made a local area agreement to this end."Rise of the NEETs". Local Government Improvement and Development. October 2009. Accessed 25 August 2011. Archived 25 August 2011. As part of the 2004 Spending Review, the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) had a public service agreement to reduce the proportion of NEETs from 9.6 percent in 2004 to 7.6 percent in 2010."Young people not in education, employment or training (Vol 1)", pp. 6–7.
"Department for Education and Skills". 2004 Spending Review: New Public Spending Plans 2005–2008. HM Treasury. p. 87. Accessed 26 August 2011. 25 August 2011. Introduced in 2004–2005 the UK-wide Education Maintenance Allowance offers a means-tested weekly payment of up to £30 to young people continuing education past secondary school.Dawson, Catherine (2010). Learn While You Earn. Kogan Page Publishers. Chapters 12–15. In 2007 the government implemented a "September guarantee" that guaranteed all 16-year-old school leavers a suitable learning place in September, extended to 17-year-olds the following year.Lupton, Ruth; Heath, Natalie; Salter, Emma. "Education: New Labour's top priority". In: Hills, John; Sefton, Tom; Stewart, Kitty. (eds) (2009). Towards a More Equal Society?: Poverty, Inequality and Policy Since 1997. The Policy Press. p. 82. For the definition of "suitable", see: "Young people not in education, employment or training (Vol 1)", p. 10. The "Young Person's Guarantee" was announced in the 2009 budget, offering a guaranteed job, training, or work experience to 18- to 24-year-olds who have been on Jobseeker's Allowance for six months; it went live on 25 January 2010. It was announced in the 2010 budget that the scheme would end in March 2012, an extension of one year.Goujard, Antoine; Petrongolo, Barbara; Van Reenen, John. "The Labour Market For Young People". p. 47. In: Gregg, Paul; Wadsworth, Jonathan. (eds) (2011). The Labour Market in Winter: The State of Working Britain. Oxford University Press. For when it went live, see: "Young people not in education, employment or training (Vol 1)", p. 11. For the extension, see: Hopkins, Kathryn. "Budget 2010: Jobs pledge for under-24s extended by a year" . The Guardian. 25 March 2010. Accessed 26 August 2011.
In England, the Education and Skills Act 2008, introduced requirements for those above school-leaving age in England (16) to either be in full-time (or part-time) work, or another form of post-16 education, such as college or university."School leaving age plans unveiled" . BBC News. 6 November 2007. Accessed 25 August 2011. Royal assent: "Education and Skills Bill 2007-08" . parliament.uk. Accessed 26 August 2011. See also: "Education and Skills Act 2008" . legislation.gov.uk. Accessed 26 August 2011. These requirements are exclusive to England and do not apply anywhere else in the United Kingdom.
A number of further education colleges seek to enrol NEETs. For example, it was reported in 2005 that a course for NEETs at Bournemouth and Poole College had offered various sign-on incentives, and completion bonuses of a free iPod and £100 in cash.
The Scottish Government limits the NEET classification to those aged 16–19."Literature Review of the NEET Group", p. 1.
Japan
NEET is a distinct social policy category from that of freeter, the classification for those working low-wage part-time jobs, although in practice thousands of young people move between these categories (i.e., from the status of non-employed young person to that of a part-time worker and back) each year.
The demographic prevalence of NEETs has been indicated in employment statistics. Japanese politicians expressed concern about the impact on the economy of the growth in the NEET population. The estimated size rose from 480,000 in September 2002 to 520,000 in September 2003, according to the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. Other surveys by the Japanese government in 2002 presented a much larger figure of 850,000 people who can be classified as NEET, of which 60% were people aged 25 to 34.Brinton, Mary (2011). Lost in Transition : Youth, Work, and Instability in Postindustrial Japan. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. It is therefore clear that the statistical number of NEETs depends greatly on the specific definition adopted, so all figures should be treated with caution.