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Unemployment: Young People

Volume 497: debated on Wednesday 14 October 2009

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many and what proportion of people aged 16 to 24 were not in education, employment or training in (a) each local authority area and (b) each region in each of the last 12 quarters for which figures are available. (289275)

Table 1 and table 2 as follows show the number and percentage of people aged 16 to 24 not in education, employment or training by Government Office Region. These estimates are from quarterly Labour Force survey (LFS) data and are rounded to the nearest 1000.

Table 3 shows the number and percentage of people aged1 16 to 24 not in education, employment or training by local education authority (LEA). These estimates are from the Annual Population survey (APS) which covers the period January to December. Due to the small populations of local authority areas, we have used the APS (which has a larger sample) to breakdown the estimates by LEA (larger geographical area). This enables us to provide more robust estimates.

Please note that even for regions, sample sizes can be small and these estimates are subject to sampling variability. Confidence intervals, which indicate how accurate estimates are, are between 2 and 3 percentage points for these regional estimates, and between 3 and 10 percentage points for these local education authority estimates. Numbers have been rounded to the nearest thousand and estimates denoted with a ‘*’ means less than 1000 young people are estimated to be NEET in that area.

1Age used is the respondents academic age, which is their age at the preceding 31 August.

Table 1: People aged¹ 16 to 24 not in education, employment or training by region

Q3 2006

Q4 2006

Q1 2007

Q2 2007

Q3 2007

Q4 2007

Q1 2008

Q2 2008

Q3 2008

Q4 2008

Q1 2009

Q2 2009

England

970,000

808,000

828,000

833,000

909,000

782,000

810,000

840,000

973,000

857,000

935,000

959,000

North East

53,000

45,000

48,000

47,000

52,000

49,000

52,000

56,000

65,000

54,000

57,000

69,000

North West

140,000

120,000

127,000

134,000

144,000

120,000

136,000

139,000

151,000

142,000

156,000

155,000

Yorks and Humber

118,000

95,000

97,000

92,000

105,000

82,000

75,000

101,000

119,000

92,000

107,000

121,000

East Midlands

81,000

65,000

72,000

66,000

81,000

70,000

69,000

71,000

86,000

68,000

69,000

75,000

West Midlands

112,000

96,000

111,000

107,000

111,000

93,000

95,000

98,000

119,000

105,000

126,000

131,000

East of England

92,000

77,000

76,000

84,000

92,000

74,000

87,000

77,000

82,000

79,000

83,000

82,000

London

184,000

148,000

119,000

130,000

136,000

123,000

129,000

132,000

149,000

131,000

127,000

120,000

South East

115,000

93,000

107,000

112,000

125,000

116,000

104,000

111,000

131,000

122,000

130,000

142,000

South West

74,000

68,000

70,000

61,000

63,000

56,000

63,000

55,000

71,000

63,000

78,000

66,000

Table 2: Percentage of people aged¹ 16 to 24 not in education, employment or training by region

Q3 2006

Q4 2006

Q1 2007

Q2 2007

Q3 2007

Q4 2007

Q1 2008

Q2 2008

Q3 2008

Q4 2008

Q1 2009

Q2 2009

England

17

14

14

14

15

13

14

14

16

14

16

16

North East

17

14

15

15

16

15

16

17

20

17

18

21

North West

17

14

15

16

17

14

16

16

18

17

18

18

Yorks and Humber

18

14

14

14

16

12

11

15

18

14

16

19

East Midlands

16

12

14

13

15

13

13

13

16

13

13

14

West Midlands

18

15

18

17

18

15

15

16

19

16

20

21

East of England

16

13

13

14

15

12

14

13

13

13

14

13

London

21

17

14

15

16

14

15

15

16

15

14

13

South East

13

11

12

12

14

13

12

12

14

13

14

15

South West

14

12

13

11

11

10

11

10

13

11

14

12

Table 3: People aged¹ 16 to 24 not in education, employment or training by local education authority

2006

2007

2008

NEET

Percentage

NEET

Percentage

NEET

Percentage

England

849,000

15

850,000

14

857,000

14

Barking and Dagenham

6,000

25

4,000

20

4,000

20

Barnet

3,000

7

1,000

4

7,000

19

Barnsley

5,000

19

6,000

23

5,000

19

Bath and North East Somerset

3,000

10

2,000

9

2,000

9

Bedfordshire

7,000

15

7,000

16

4,000

8

Bexley

4,000

17

3,000

12

3,000

14

Birmingham

30,000

19

30,000

20

29,000

20

Blackburn with Darwen

3,000

19

3,000

21

2,000

16

Blackpool

4,000

22

3,000

20

2,000

12

Bolton

5,000

14

5,000

14

4,000

12

Bournemouth

2,000

7

2,000

11

3,000

14

Bracknell Forest

1,000

11

1,000

11

2,000

13

Bradford

12,000

18

12,000

18

9,000

14

Brent

7,000

22

5,000

17

4,000

14

Brighton and Hove

4,000

11

5,000

13

4,000

12

Bristol

7,000

13

8,000

15

9,000

14

Bromley

5,000

18

5,000

16

5,000

16

Buckinghamshire

5,000

11

4,000

10

5,000

11

Bury

3,000

17

3,000

19

3,000

14

Calderdale

4,000

17

3,000

13

4,000

18

Cambridgeshire

5,000

8

6,000

9

8,000

11

Camden

4,000

16

3,000

12

3,000

10

Cheshire

6,000

8

7,000

9

9,000

13

Cornwall

5,000

10

7,000

13

5,000

10

Coventry

6,000

14

6,000

15

9,000

19

Croydon

2,000

7

6,000

15

6,000

16

Cumbria

7,000

16

6,000

12

2,000

5

Darlington

2,000

20

3,000

24

1,000

12

Derby

4,000

16

5,000

16

4,000

13

Derbyshire

14,000

19

13,000

16

10,000

14

Devon

9,000

12

11,000

13

5,000

6

Doncaster

6,000

20

5,000

14

8,000

22

Dorset

2,000

5

4,000

11

3,000

8

Dudley

4,000

11

4,000

14

8,000

19

Durham

13,000

21

8,000

13

11,000

17

Ealing

5,000

15

6,000

16

5,000

13

East Riding of Yorkshire

5,000

14

4,000

11

5,000

14

East Sussex

4,000

9

7,000

15

8,000

17

Enfield

5,000

19

4,000

14

3,000

12

Essex

16,000

11

19,000

13

21,000

14

Gateshead

4,000

18

3,000

15

4,000

21

Gloucestershire

9,000

16

6,000

10

6,000

10

Greenwich

6,000

22

6,000

26

4,000

16

Hackney

5,000

22

4,000

17

5,000

20

Halton

2,000

15

2,000

16

3,000

23

Hammersmith and Fulham

3,000

14

2,000

11

2,000

12

Hampshire

14,000

11

19,000

14

16,000

11

Haringey

8,000

26

4,000

15

6,000

20

Harrow

*

*

2,000

11

3,000

13

Hartlepool

2,000

23

2,000

26

3,000

27

Havering

2,000

9

3,000

12

2,000

7

Herefordshire

2,000

10

2,000

12

2,000

12

Hertfordshire

15,000

14

13,000

12

14,000

13

Hillingdon

4,000

15

6,000

18

4,000

15

Hounslow

5,000

16

5,000

16

6,000

22

Isle of Wight

2,000

17

2,000

13

2,000

18

Islington

4,000

20

4,000

15

3,000

14

Kensington and Chelsea

3,000

21

2,000

9

3,000

16

Kent

23,000

16

24,000

17

25,000

17

Kingston upon Hull

6,000

18

8,000

20

8,000

18

Kingston upon Thames

3,000

17

2,000

11

2,000

11

Kirklees

9,000

19

9,000

19

8,000

19

Knowsley

4,000

20

4,000

22

5,000

20

Lambeth

5,000

17

5,000

15

4,000

12

Lancashire

19,000

14

17,000

12

21,000

14

Leeds

11,000

10

16,000

13

20,000

15

Leicester

7,000

14

7,000

15

9,000

18

Leicestershire

6,000

9

6,000

9

9,000

14

Lewisham

5,000

18

6,000

20

5,000

19

Lincolnshire

11,000

16

10,000

14

10,000

13

Liverpool

10,000

16

11,000

17

10,000

15

Luton

4,000

18

4,000

17

4,000

16

Manchester

10,000

13

12,000

15

13,000

16

Medway

5,000

16

4,000

12

5,000

18

Merton

3,000

13

3,000

14

3,000

15

Middlesbrough

4,000

22

4,000

21

5,000

24

Milton Keynes

3,000

16

4,000

14

2,000

9

Newcastle upon Tyne

5,000

10

5,000

11

6,000

10

Newham

6,000

18

7,000

18

4,000

12

Norfolk

11,000

14

12,000

14

15,000

17

North East Lincolnshire

4,000

23

3,000

17

4,000

21

North Lincolnshire

3,000

15

3,000

18

2,000

15

North Somerset

1,000

7

*

*

2,000

7

North Tyneside

4,000

18

4,000

17

4,000

20

North Yorkshire

6,000

11

6,000

9

7,000

12

Northamptonshire

11,000

14

11,000

13

12,000

14

Northumberland

4,000

14

6,000

17

4,000

11

Nottingham

8,000

15

8,000

14

7,000

12

Nottinghamshire

12,000

13

10,000

11

12,000

14

Oldham

7,000

24

6,000

25

7,000

25

Oxfordshire

7,000

9

11,000

14

6,000

8

Peterborough

4,000

20

5,000

22

4,000

20

Plymouth

5,000

13

5,000

15

3,000

8

Poole

2,000

15

1,000

10

2,000

12

Portsmouth

4,000

15

3,000

9

3,000

8

Reading

2,000

15

2,000

11

2,000

11

Redbridge

6,000

22

4,000

16

4,000

14

Redcar and Cleveland

3,000

17

3,000

19

4,000

27

Richmond upon Thames

3,000

22

2,000

14

2,000

12

Rochdale

6,000

22

3,000

14

3,000

14

Rotherham

7,000

21

5,000

19

7,000

24

Rutland

*

*

*

*

*

*

Salford

5,000

20

4,000

16

6,000

22

Sandwell

8,000

23

8,000

24

9,000

26

Sefton

5,000

15

5,000

16

7,000

19

Sheffield

12,000

16

12,000

15

13,000

16

Shropshire

3,000

11

4,000

15

3,000

10

Slough

3,000

18

2,000

15

2,000

14

Solihull

2,000

12

3,000

16

4,000

18

Somerset

8,000

15

8,000

13

7,000

13

South Gloucestershire

2,000

7

2,000

9

2,000

7

South Tyneside

4,000

24

3,000

15

3,000

16

Southampton

6,000

14

6,000

18

4,000

10

Southend on Sea

2,000

17

3,000

20

3,000

20

Southwark

7,000

21

6,000

18

6,000

16

St Helens

4,000

19

5,000

26

4,000

21

Staffordshire

8,000

10

10,000

12

11,000

11

Stockport

4,000

11

4,000

10

4,000

13

Stockton-on-Tees

4,000

19

5,000

18

4,000

18

Stoke-on-Trent

7,000

20

7,000

20

5,000

19

Suffolk

10,000

15

8,000

11

11,000

16

Sunderland

5,000

14

5,000

14

6,000

15

Surrey

9,000

9

12,000

11

8,000

8

Sutton

3,000

17

4,000

23

1,000

8

Swindon

2,000

13

1,000

8

3,000

16

Tameside

5,000

18

6,000

20

6,000

23

Telford and Wrekin

4,000

20

3,000

15

3,000

15

Thurrock

2,000

17

2,000

12

3,000

17

Torbay

2,000

18

2,000

14

2,000

12

Tower Hamlets

10,000

24

9,000

25

7,000

22

Trafford

4,000

16

3,000

12

3,000

13

Wakefield

7,000

19

8,000

17

7,000

16

Walsall

7,000

21

8,000

24

5,000

17

Waltham Forest

4,000

14

5,000

16

6,000

18

Wandsworth

2,000

8

3,000

13

3,000

12

Warrington

2,000

10

2,000

13

3,000

14

Warwickshire

8,000

13

7,000

12

6,000

13

West Berkshire

3,000

19

2,000

11

1,000

9

West Sussex

9,000

13

8,000

11

8,000

11

Westminster

4,000

11

5,000

14

5,000

15

Wigan

7,000

21

6,000

17

5,000

13

Wiltshire

5,000

13

3,000

9

7,000

15

Windsor and Maidenhead

1,000

12

2,000

15

1,000

10

Wirral

6,000

18

6,000

17

6,000

20

Wokingham

2,000

9

*

*

2,000

11

Wolverhampton

6,000

21

7,000

23

9,000

29

Worcestershire

6,000

12

4,000

8

5,000

8

York

5,000

17

4,000

15

1,000

4

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many young people were not in education, employment or training in (a) England and (b) North-East Cambridgeshire in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. (291284)

[holding answer 16 September 2009]: I have been asked to reply.

Estimates of participation in education, training and employment for those aged 16 to 18 are published by the Department in a Statistical First Release (SFR) each June and can be found on the Department's website

http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000792/index.shtml

These estimates cannot be broken down to constituency level. However, Connexions Services collect information on the number and proportion of 16 to 18-year-olds NEET in each local authority area. Figures for Cambridgeshire are shown in the following table. As the Connexions data set is calculated in a different way to the Department's official estimates set out above, comparative figures for England are also shown. Figures for Cambridgeshire are not available prior to 2006.

16 to 18-year-olds NEET (Connexions estimates)

2006

2007

2008

Cambridgeshire

Number

900

840

900

Proportion (percentage)

5.4

5.0

5.2

England

Number

126,500

109,300

110,890

Proportion (percentage)

7.7

6.7

6.7

Through the September Guarantee, we are providing every young person aged 16 to 17 with a suitable offer of a place in learning. This has helped us to make excellent progress on participation, with a record level of 88 per cent. of 16 to 17-year-olds in education and training at the end of 2008, and the third consecutive fall in the proportion of 16 to 17-year-olds NEET. Connexions services provide advice and support to all young people and since April 2009, 18-year-old jobseekers who have been NEET for 26 weeks have received early entry to the additional support available through the new deal.