Household Earnings Nearly Double for NEET Young People Not on Benefits, ONS Figures Show

Official analysis of Census 2021 data finds that young people aged 16 to 24 who were not in education, employment or training and had no recorded benefit receipt lived in households earning an average of £44,600 — almost twice the £24,253 recorded for NEET young people who were receiving benefits.

The gap is stark. The Office for National Statistics, analysing Census 2021 data for England linked to administrative benefit records, found that average household employee earnings in the year leading up to Census Day on 21 March 2021 were £44,600 for NEET young people with no recorded benefit receipt, compared with £24,253 for those who were receiving benefits — a difference of just over £20,000. The figures cover earnings from paid employment by household members and are used as a proxy for the economic resources available to a young person at home.

ONS is clear that these estimates are not directly comparable with headline NEET statistics from the Labour Force Survey or the Department for Education’s own NEET series. They are produced for analytical context, not to replace existing official measures.

For Kent households, the pattern is relevant. The South East region — which includes Kent — recorded one of the lowest NEET rates in England at around 9 to 10 per cent in October to December 2021, according to Department for Education data. But that relatively low regional rate masks local variation, and the ONS earnings gap suggests that NEET young people’s circumstances differ sharply depending on whether their household relies on employee earnings or benefits.

The figures show that being NEET does not automatically mean living in a low-income household. A young person can be out of work and training while living with parents or other household members on relatively high earnings — and in that situation may not qualify for means-tested benefits at all. Critics of household-level analysis point out that this can obscure individual hardship: a young person in a higher-earning household may still face real barriers to work or training, including health problems or caring responsibilities, but won’t show up in benefit data.

Kent County Council and local partners use NEET and earnings data to direct support such as skills programmes and apprenticeship advice. The ONS analysis suggests that outreach may need to reach two quite different groups — those in benefit-dependent, lower-income households, and those in higher-earning households where a young person isn’t claiming benefits but is still disengaged from education and work.