Any recent graduate in the UK does not need reminding how difficult it is to find an entry-level role in today’s job market. People are removing their master’s from their CV because they’re sick of being told they’re overqualified. They’re working minimum wage jobs despite being somewhat of an expert in a specific field and turning to remote, non-traditional streams of income because going viral now feels much more likely than securing a stable career.

While some of us are referring to this phenomenon as pure rage bait or a career crash out, its official name is the NEET crisis, standing for people Not in Education, Employment or Training. 1 in 8 people aged 16-24 in the UK currently fit the NEET criteria and 60% of these have stopped looking for work entirely.

Let’s dig deeper into how this crisis has changed in recent years, who is most affected by it and, most importantly, how the struggle to find fulfilling employment affects the daily lives of the youth behind these statistics.

A New Problem or an Old One?

Though it feels like the challenge of finding graduate jobs has suddenly surged, it has been fluctuating over the last 25 years, with the highest NEET rates occurring in 2012. If you want to get a deeper understanding of the figures, I’d recommend reading this report published just a number of weeks ago but, as it’s pretty lengthy, I’ll summarise the general story of how the NEET crisis has evolved in the last few decades.

You might, like me, have assumed that the COVID pandemic caused an exponential rise in NEET rates between 2020 and 2023. The report reveals that the amount of furlough given out actually reduced youth unemployment rates for that period. The pandemic may feel like a long time ago now, but many industries are still feeling the effects of the recession it caused. While it was hospitality and retail workers losing the most jobs during the pandemic, we have circled back to those industries once again being the only ones that will accept unqualified or freshly graduated applicants.

The NEETest Members of Society

As per usual, the groups most affected by this crisis are the ones most vulnerable to begin with. Minorities such as people of different ethnicities, disabled people, members of the LGBTQ+ community and those who come from low-income upbringings face more barriers when accessing education and employment. Factors like mental health and financial or family instability can also have a cyclical effect on young people’s ability to seek and secure work or complete higher education. Not having financial security can lead to anxiety and depression, but it’s difficult to find a new job and do well in interviews and trial shifts when your mind is so distracted worrying.

Many NEET people categorised as economically inactive, as they are not seeking employment or education, are neurodivergent or have disabilities that make it extremely difficult for them to work. Holding down a job would be more manageable if they could access reasonable adjustments and support in the workplace. However, if a large proportion of neurodivergent and disabled people find working too challenging and therefore leave employment altogether, employers do not learn how to make their working environments more accessible for these groups of people.

As difficult as it is, some members of minority groups have to be out there setting an example and advocating for equity and accessibility so that one day the correct support will be in place to allow other people in their communities to also enter the workplace. Considering how exhausting it must be for disabled people to try and remain employed in workplaces not set up for their success, it’s not surprising that many choose to rely on government benefits instead.

The Hidden Effects of the NEET Crisis

Many of my own friends graduated this year and are still searching for jobs or working in hospitality until they can find a position more relevant to their degree. The inaccessibility of employment even for educated youth who are happy to start on a lower income until they’ve learnt the ropes makes the thousands of pounds of student debt feel like a waste. You cannot climb the rungs when you’re on the wrong ladder, a ladder that you don’t want to be on and never planned to be on, hence the decision to get a degree in the first place so you wouldn’t have to work in low-paying jobs that aren’t relevant to your interests.

When people are forced to swap their passions and the future they’ve dreamed of for a dead-end 9-5 so that they can afford to live, it affects much more than just their bank account. Working on tasks that you don’t care about is often a waste of energy that becomes soul crushing if done long-term. We all need a steady income, but we also have a human, spiritual yearning to find meaning and direction in our daily lives. Long periods of time lacking motivation and purpose make people susceptible to depression and many other mental health conditions. Dead-end jobs have also been shown to reduce creativity, innovation and problem-solving abilities, which is not reassuring when we face a multitude of issues that we have thus far not been able to solve. Surely we should be encouraging innovation, inspiration and out-of-the-box thinking.

Political Consequences of the NEET Crisis

As well as impacting mental health, studies are showing the political effects of young people’s loss of hope for their futures. Only a quarter of 16-29-year-olds still believe that being more talented and hardworking will take you further in life than those who don’t work as hard – a number that is worsening with every generation.

Being disappointed by the prospects offered despite paying for years of higher education is making young people feel forgotten about by the government and like their needs and political engagement do not matter (known as low political efficacy). 30% of young people in the UK do not trust politicians and polls show that youth seem to be leaning towards more leftist, socialist parties.

With the lack of political education in schools, youth rely on social media to stay politically informed, which comes with the risk of misinformation. All this shows that it is critical for parties to include youth and prioritise their need for a stable and hopeful future, as well as being visible on the platforms they interact with most, if they want to gain their confidence and votes.

The rising NEET numbers are not only a crisis of employment but of faith in the entire system it is based on and failing to support young people entering the workplace will continue to have a serious effect on how they vote and how much trust they have in the government and democracy as a whole. It’s not just about a job. It’s about knowing there is a future worth fighting for. Once people stop seeing results, like the high-paying jobs they were promised, their efforts feel wasted and they start losing their desire to positively contribute to society.

So What Can We Do?

There are definitely many more factors that need investigating before I can give you a solid answer on how the government can improve NEET rates. What I do know for now is that job satisfaction should be taken just as seriously as the salary and employment rates. Figures don’t always reflect people’s true feelings, and just because many young people have found employment, does not mean they are content with their jobs. We have a lot of work to do to solve the world’s issues and we won’t accomplish much while people’s creativity and innovative thinking are being crushed by the mundaneness of working in a sector they don’t care about. Inaccessibility of employment could be the thing preventing someone with a disability from finding the answer to one of our biggest dilemmas.

Thank you for reading! Comment any thoughts or questions you have on this topic and I’ll be sure to include them in the next related post.

Good luck to all the graduates out there trying to find their dream job. Stay strong, that degree was worth it, and one day you may use it to change the world.

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Until next time,
The Torn Traveller