The real cost of youth unemployment is paid in health

The People’s Health Trust today warned that the nation is sitting on a health timebomb

The warning follows the release of the quarterly data on young people Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEETs) from the Office of National Statistics.

The data reveals there are now just under 1m NEETs in the UK and a massive 60% of them are economically inactive, meaning they were either not in work or not actively looking for work.

The figures are slightly down on the last quarter, but still represent a 30,000 year-on-year rise.

Research has consistently shown that not being in work or training leads to lower life expectancy and more years of illness.

While there are a range of programmes happening across England, Wales and Scotland, the Trust is calling for greater investment in approaches that help young people overcome barriers to good work, particularly those experiencing mental health problems and disabled young people.

People’s Health Trust Chief Executive, John Hume explained:

“Just under a million young people have been locked out of a better future and the impact on the health of generations will be huge if we allow these figures to become normalised. The nation is sitting on a health timebomb.

“The evidence is clear: spending long periods outside education, employment and training can cast a long shadow over a person's health, wellbeing and future opportunities, the cost of which will be astronomic to the nation.

“The question now is not whether action is needed, but how investment can best be directed towards the approaches that evidence suggests work best for young people facing barriers to employment.

“In his first speech in the job, the Prime Minister said that fixing the youth unemployment crisis will require a major shake-up in how the government does things. We welcome that ambition and believe government should work closely with communities, employers and organisations already testing new ways to support young people into good work.”

The Trust is funding organisations to test new approaches to supporting young people experiencing mental health challenges to move towards good work. The programme is exploring how a practical, scalable approach can help more young people experiencing mental health challenges move towards good work.

Hume added: 

“Good work can be the difference between a healthy future and a lifetime of disadvantage.

“When opportunities dry up, not everyone faces the same risks. Young people already experiencing poverty, discrimination and disadvantage are often the first to be locked out of work and the last to benefit from economic recovery.

“Communities already experiencing the worst health outcomes are too often the same communities where young people face the greatest barriers to opportunity.

“Through our work with young people and communities across the country, we see the positive impact that secure, meaningful employment can have on confidence, wellbeing and future opportunities.

“Without action to ensure all young people can access secure, meaningful work, we risk widening health inequality and denying a generation the opportunity to thrive.”

-Ends-

Notes to editors

1. ONS data from their 27 August 2026 quarterly release showed 981,000 young people aged 16-24 were NEET in January-March 2026. This represents 13% of all young people.

The figure increased by 30,000 year-on-year.

2. Of the 981,000 NEET young people around 60% were economically inactive, and around 40% were unemployed. This means most are not simply looking for work and failing to find it; they are disconnected from both employment and education.

3. Time spent NEET can harm health and future life chances.

A major UCL Centre for Longitudinal Studies report published in April 2026 found that being NEET between ages 16-24 can have effects visible decades later. Researchers found that those who spent longer time as NEET in early adulthood experienced worse employment, financial, physical health and mental health outcomes in midlife:

• Persistent NEET young people were almost six times more likely to be out of work in midlife.
• They were around three times more likely to report poor health.
• They were roughly twice as likely to report high psychological distress later in life.
• The researchers concluded that early disengagement from education and work can have a long-term “scarring effect” on employment, finances and physical and mental health.