One in Seven Young Men in England Were NEET in 2021, ONS Figures Show

One in seven young men in England was NEET in 2021, according to official figures published by the Office for National Statistics. The analysis, drawn from 2021 Census data, shows 14.1 per cent of males aged 16 to 24 were NEET compared with 12.9 per cent of females — a gap of 1.2 percentage points across the age group as a whole.

The figures show stark differences in the reasons behind that status, though. Among young women who were NEET, 34.2 per cent were unemployed — but 28.0 per cent were looking after family or home, a category that barely registers among young men in the same position. For young men who were NEET, unemployment accounted for 50.2 per cent of cases.

Caring responsibilities carry particular weight in the data. Young women providing 50 or more hours of unpaid care per week had a NEET rate of 39.9 per cent, compared with 38.7 per cent for young men providing the same level of care — suggesting that at very high caring loads, the gender gap in NEET rates narrows considerably.

The ONS also reports higher NEET prevalence among young people who were ever eligible for free school meals than among those who were never eligible, pointing to a clear link between economic disadvantage in childhood and labour market or education outcomes in early adulthood. The analysis adjusts for individual and geographical differences, meaning the patterns it identifies go beyond simple raw comparisons between groups.

No Kent-specific NEET figure appears in the ONS release. Yet the barriers identified — long-term sickness or disability, caring responsibilities, and unemployment — are ones that Kent councils, colleges, Jobcentre Plus offices, and NHS services work with directly. For young people in the county affected by any of those factors, the national picture offers context for why targeted local support matters.