One in six young people will not be in work or training in five years without action, report warns

The report said that young people were being failed by a 'broken system' One in six young people will not be in education, employment or training within five years unless "urgent" action is taken, a major review has warned. The education, health and welfare systems are "no longer fit for purpose" in preparing young people for adult life, said its author former minister Alan Milburn. "We are at risk of a lost generation," he warned, with the number of 16 to 24-year-olds out of work, education or

The "first rung of the career ladder has thinned" and that for "too many young people it is now simply out of reach", Milburn is set to say in a speech later. "That places them in a hopeless catch-22 where employers ask for work experience but the opportunities for young people to gain it have narrowed or gone," he will say. There are growing concerns over the number of young people not working. Latest figures show the unemployment rate for 16 to 24-year-olds is 16.2%, the highest since 2014, and more than three times the broader unemployment rate of 5%. Milburn was tasked with investigating why so many young people are not in employment, education or training - known by the acronym Neets. According to the latest official UK figures, there were 957,000 young people classed as Neet from October to December 2025, equivalent to one in eight people in that age category. More than half of those were deemed to be not looking for work. Milburn warned that number could rise to 1.25 million, or one in six young people, in the next five years unless action was taken. Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said he commissioned the report to save a generation of young people from unemployment, welcoming its findings. McFadden also said the government is focusing on "early intervention" measures such as special educational needs support and the removal of the two-child cap on benefits. "But we know there is more to do," he added. The findings from the former Labour health secretary's review have been heavily trailed.

Key points

• The "first rung of the career ladder has thinned" and that for "too many young people it is now simply out of reach", Milburn is set to say in a speech later.
• "That places them in a hopeless catch-22 where employers ask for work experience but the opportunities for young people to gain it have narrowed or gone," he will say.
• There are growing concerns over the number of young people not working.
• Latest figures show the unemployment rate for 16 to 24-year-olds is 16.2%, the highest since 2014, and more than three times the broader unemployment rate of 5%.
• Milburn was tasked with investigating why so many young people are not in employment, education or training - known by the acronym Neets.