Michael Simmons
‘It is hard not to be pessimistic when you examine the data,’ former health secretary Alan Milburn says in the foreword to his report into young people doing nothing with their lives. That is quite the understatement.
Figures released this morning by the Office for National Statistics show that the number of those classed as not in education, employment or training (Neets) has passed one million – 13.5 per cent of all 16 to 24-year-olds. But Milburn’s review into the crisis suggests we are nowhere near the peak. Forecasting carried out for the report estimates that the rate could hit 16 per cent within five years, meaning more than 1.25 million young Britons would be classed as Neets. Even under the report’s most optimistic scenario, the number was expected to exceed one million – and that threshold has already been crossed this morning.
And all of this is starting to cost us. At current levels, Milburn estimates the cumulative annual cost of having so many young people out of work and education is £125 billion – more than the entire education budget. Had this rot not been allowed to take hold, and had those 18 to 24-year-olds been in full-time work, they could have contributed an additional £38 billion to the economy. Even if progress is made in rescuing some of the young Britons languishing as Neets, they will still likely miss out on nearly £300,000 in lifetime earnings, with every year spent outside work or education knocking around £52,000 off someone’s earning potential.
