Neet number climbs 5,000 to 853,000

The number of young people not in employment, training or education has increased by 5,000, new figures have shown.

There were 853,000 people aged from 16 to 24 in the UK who were classified as Neet in the final quarter of last year.

The figure was 5,000 higher than the previous three months, but 110,000 down from a year earlier, said the Office for National Statistics.

A total of 11.8% of all young people were Neet, an increase of 0.1% over the quarter but down by 1.4% from a year earlier.

In the latest quarter there were 48,000 people aged 16 or 17 who were not in education, employment or training, down 2,000 from July to September and by 11,000 from a year earlier.

There were 805,000 people aged from 18 to 24 who were Neet, up 7,000 from the previous quarter and down 99,000 from a year earlier.