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ANEET, an acronym for "Not in Education, Employment, or Training", is a person who isunemployed and not receiving aneducation orvocational training. The classification originated in theUnited Kingdom in the late 1990s, and its use has spread, in varying degrees, to other countries, includingCanada,China,Japan,Serbia,South Korea and theUnited States. The NEET category includes the unemployed (individuals without a job and seeking one), as well as individuals outside the labour force (without a job and not seeking one). It is usually age-bounded to exclude people in old-ageretirement.
In the United Kingdom, the classification comprises people aged between 16 and 24. In Japan, the classification comprises people aged between 15 and 34 who are not employed, not engaged inhousework, not enrolled in school or work-relatedtraining, and not seeking work.
A 2008 report by theOrganisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said the unemployment and NEET rates for people aged 16–24 in the majority of OECD countries fell in the past decade, attributed to increased participation in education.[1]
NEET is to be distinguished from the newly coined NLFET rate ("Neither in the Labour Force nor in Education or Training") used in the 2013 report on Global Employment Trends for Youth by theInternational Labour Organization. NLFET is similar to NEET but excludes unemployed youth (who are part of the labor force).[2]
Knowledge of the term spread after it was used in a 1999 report by theSocial Exclusion Unit (SEU).[3] Before this, the phrase "status zero", which had a similar meaning, was used. Andy Furlong writes that the use of the term NEET became popular partly because of the negative connotations of having "no status".[4] The classification is specifically redefined in otherlocal government papers, such as "respondents who were out of work or looking for a job, looking after children or family members, on unpaid holiday or traveling, sick or disabled, doing voluntary work or engaged in another unspecified activity"; the acronym, however, has no agreed definition with respect to measurement, particularly in relation to defining economic inactivity.Karen Robson writes that the classification has "virtually usurped discussions of "youth unemployment" in the UK literature".[5] Scott Yates and Malcolm Payne say that initially there was a "holistic focus" on the NEET group by policy-makers which looked at the problems young people went through, but this changed as the NEET status became framed in negative terms—"as reflective of a raft of risks, problems and negative orientations on the part of young people".[6] NEET figures for England are published by theDepartment for Education (DfE).[7] Themethodology used in calculating the number of NEETs aged 16–18 is different from that used for those aged 16–24. The first relies on a range of sources, the second on theLabour Force Survey.[8]
A 2007 report commissioned by thePrince's Trust said almost a fifth of people aged 16–24 inEngland,Scotland, andWales were NEETs; the proportion was lowest inNorthern Ireland (13.8 percent).[9] The second-quarter figures for 2011 showed that 979,000 people in England between 16 and 24 were NEETs, accounting for 16.2 percent in that age group.[10] Between 1995 and 2008, the proportion of NEETs aged 16–18 in England remained fairly stable at around 8–11 percent.[11]The Guardian reported in 2011 that, since 2003, there has been a 15.6 percent decrease in people aged 16–18 in employment, but a 6.8 percent increase in those in education and training.[12] NEET figures tend to peak in the third quarter, when school and university courses are ending.[13]
There is some stigma attached to the term NEET.[14] Simon Cox of BBC News said the word is "the latest buzzword for teenage drop-outs".[15][16] He says "Neets are 20 times more likely to commit a crime and 22 times more likely to be a teenage mum", and thatBarking and Dagenham has been called the country's "Neet capital".[15] David Smith ofThe Times calls them "the yobs hanging around off-licences late into the night".[17] According to Colin Webster, NEETs commit disproportionately large amounts ofcrime. Children with high levels oftruancy and exclusions at school are likely to become NEETs.[18]
Several schemes and ideas have been developed to reduce the number of NEETs. One of the main goals of theConnexions service, first piloted in 2001, is to reduce the number of NEETs.[6] Mostlocal authorities have made alocal area agreement to this end.[19] As part of the 2004Spending Review, theDepartment for Education and Skills (DfES) had apublic service agreement to reduce the proportion of NEETs from 9.6 percent in 2004 to 7.6 percent in 2010.[20] Introduced in 2004–2005 the UK-wideEducation Maintenance Allowance offers a means-tested weekly payment of up to £30 to young people continuing education past secondary school.[21] In 2007 the government implemented a "September guarantee" that guaranteed all 16-year-old school leavers a suitable learning place in September, extended to 17-year-olds the following year.[22] The "Young Person's Guarantee" was announced in the 2009budget, offering a guaranteed job, training, or work experience to 18- to 24-year-olds who have been onJobseeker's Allowance for six months; it went live on 25 January 2010. It was announced in the 2010 budget that the scheme would end in March 2012, an extension of one year.[23]
In England, theEducation and Skills Act 2008, introduced requirements for those above school-leaving age in England (16) to either be in full-time (or part-time) work, or another form of post-16 education, such as college or university.[24] These requirements are exclusive to England and do not apply anywhere else in the United Kingdom.
A number offurther education colleges seek to enrol NEETs. For example, it was reported in 2005 that a course for NEETs atBournemouth and Poole College had offered various sign-on incentives, and completion bonuses of a freeiPod and £100 in cash.[15]
TheScottish Government limits the NEET classification to those aged 16–19.[25]
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NEET is a distinct social policy category from that offreeter, the classification for those working low-wage part-time jobs, although in practice thousands of young people move between these categories (i.e., from the status of non-employed young person to that of a part-time worker and back) each year.
The demographic prevalence of NEETs has been indicated in employment statistics. Japanese politicians expressed concern about the impact on the economy of the growth in the NEET population. The estimated size rose from 480,000 in September 2002 to 520,000 in September 2003, according to the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. Other surveys by the Japanese government in 2002 presented a much larger figure of 850,000 people who can be classified as NEET, of which 60% were people aged 25 to 34.[26] It is therefore clear that the statistical number of NEETs depends greatly on the specific definition adopted, so all figures should be treated with caution.
When the NEET issue erupted in the Japanese media in 2004 and 2005, non-employed young people falling into this category were framed as lazy, work-shy, and voluntarily out of employment. This media portrayal was effective in arousing the concern of Japan's (conservative) middle aged population, but it led only to moderate support for new youth policies. Indeed, as argued by Toivonen in an empirical monograph that juxtaposes media and policy discourses with youth support practices, the most promising solutions to the NEET conundrum have been created by social entrepreneurs such as Kudo Kei and Iwamoto Mami rather than by MHLW policymakers or even scholars.[27]
Unlike most Western European countries,Japan's unemployment benefit terminates automatically after three to six months and there is a limited range of support for those with special needs. Many NEETs in Japan are thus inevitably supported by their parents or relatives, though some find their way to Youth Support Stations and other services designed and/or enacted by social enterprises, including manyNPOs.
A 2016 report by theOrganization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) revealed that 580,000 young Australians (aged 15–29), or 11.8%, fall under the classification (for 2015).[28] The report also revealed that the number of NEETs has soared by 10,000 since the2008 financial crisis and now account for one in eight Australians between the ages of 15 and 29.[28]
Statistics Canada carried out the first comprehensive study into the state of NEETs in Canada in 2012. It was revealed that around 13% of Canadians between the ages of 15 and 29 fell into the category, a total of 904,000, the second lowest in theG7 nations. out of the total 904,000 NEETs, around 513,000 were not looking actively for jobs. The study suggested that long-term unemployment was not necessarily due to wider disenchantment with the labour market but rather arose out of varying factors, and that 82% of the young people not in the labour force actually want to be placed in long-term employment. The study classified the Canadian NEET population not to be "in a high risk, negative state".[29]
According to a Labour Force Survey by Statistics Canada, the proportion of NEETs in Canada rose to 24% in 2020, coinciding with the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.[30]
In Spain, Mexico, Argentina,[31] Chile, Peru[32] and Uruguay, the termni-ni ('neither-nor') has become a popular equivalent of NEET. The term meansni estudia, ni trabaja ('neither studies, nor works'). In Portuguese there is the equivalent termnem-nem.[33]
The term has become a controversial topic in Mexico, where the government feels that people who might be considered NEET are more likely to choose to join the organizations involved indrug trafficking in order to sustain their economical and personal needs, than they are to get a job or study. Some states and organizations in Mexico are creating work programs and scholarships to keep the NEET population away fromdrug cartels.[citation needed]
In Latin America and the Caribbean, the World Bank estimates one in five people ages 15–24 areninis, 20 million in total, an increase of 2 million since 1992. The 2016 study notes that two thirds ofnini are women, mostly due to early marriage, teenage pregnancies, or both. It is noted that the number of maleninis increased by 46% since 1992; males account for the entire increase ofninis in the region. Maleninis usually drop out of school to work low-paying jobs, and during periods of economic instability lose their jobs with little chance of returning to school.[34]
In Mexico,ninis statistically account for at least a quarter of increased homicides in high-crime areas during 2007–2012, but in lower-crime areas there is no association betweenninis and crime. The World Bank noted that as of 2010 in Latin America and the Caribbean, the number ofninis is somewhat lower than the global average though much higher than in higher-income nations. Globally, of the 260 millionninis counted in 2010 by the World Bank, the Middle East, North African and South Asian regions had the highest shares.[34]
Given the lasting effects caused by theGreat Recession, publications such asTime have published articles discussing the number of Americans that have qualified as NEETs, with approximately 15% of Americans under the age of 25 qualifying as such during the first quarter of 2011. Journalist Peter Gumbel wrote in late 2012 that NEETs are "especially prevalent in the U.S." and constitute a "marginalized group of young people" given U.S. state and local government difficulties in maintaining social services.[35]
In 1995,[36] theLeonardo da Vinci programme supported transnational mobility, skills and employability.[37] The programme was renewed until 2013.
In 2021,[36][38] theEuropean Commission launched the ALMA ("Aim, Learn, Master, Achieve")social inclusion initiative to facilitate the move from NEET status to education and employment.[39][40] ALMA provides bespoke training for adults under 30 in their own country,[41] and opportunities for training and mentoring in another EU country, for 2 to 6 months.[42][43] It is operated along with theEURES network,[44] and with the cooperation of businesses, youth organisations and training centres.[45] The scheme began as a German government initiative calledIntegration durch Ausbildung (IdA) in 2008.[46]
| Country/territory | Share (%) | Year |
|---|---|---|
 Turkey | 26.0 | 2019 |
 Colombia | 24.0 | 2019 |
 Costa Rica | 20.9 | 2023 |
 Mexico | 18.3 | 2019 |
 Italy | 18.0 | 2019 |
 Chile | 16.5 | 2019 |
 Israel | 14.9 | 2023 |
 Lithuania | 13.5 | 2023 |
 United States | 13.1 | 2019 |
 Austria | 13.1 | 2023 |
 Greece | 12.5 | 2023 |
 Canada | 12.4 | 2019 |
 Spain | 12.1 | 2019 |
 France | 11.8 | 2023 |
 New Zealand | 11.7 | 2023 |
 Hungary | 11.0 | 2019 |
 United Kingdom | 10.5 | 2019 |
 Slovakia | 10.3 | 2019 |
 Poland | 10.2 | 2023 |
 Ireland | 10.1 | 2019 |
 Estonia | 9.6 | 2023 |
 Belgium | 9.3 | 2019 |
 Australia | 8.9 | 2017 |
 Luxembourg | 8.8 | 2023 |
 Finland | 8.2 | 2019 |
 Portugal | 8.0 | 2019 |
 Latvia | 7.9 | 2019 |
 Denmark | 7.7 | 2019 |
 Germany | 7.5 | 2023 |
 Slovenia | 7.3 | 2023 |
 Czech Republic | 7.0 | 2023 |
 Switzerland | 6.6 | 2023 |
 Sweden | 5.5 | 2019 |
 Norway | 5.4 | 2023 |
 Iceland | 4.7 | 2019 |
 Netherlands | 4.3 | 2019 |
 Japan | 3.1 | 2019 |
 South Korea | unavailable | — |
The dictionary definition ofNEET at WiktionaryAuthority control databases: National |
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