Nearly one million 16-to-24-year-olds in Britain were not in education, employment or training in the three months to June, according to the Office for National Statistics. The figures underline the scale of youth disengagement from work and learning, prompting ministers and commentators to call for stronger action, although political parties disagree over the causes.

The total stood at 981,000, equivalent to 13 per cent of people in that age group: 30,000 higher than a year earlier but below the more than one million recorded at the start of 2026. It was also 60,000 above the 920,000 recorded in the second quarter of 2024; the government has commissioned former Labour minister Alan Milburn to examine the issue, while business groups and the Opposition cite higher employment costs and planned workers’ rights reforms as possible barriers to hiring.