Destinations following the end of compulsory full-time education

Published: 12 September 2023

Data on young people aged 16 to 24 years in the UK who were in education and training, employment or NEET (not in employment, education or training), by socio-economic background.

Summary main findings

In 2022, young people aged 16 to 24 years from higher professional backgrounds were the most likely to be in education and training out of all socio-economic backgrounds. People from lower working-class backgrounds were the most likely to be ‘NEET’ (not in employment, education or training).

Social class differences in the percentages of young people in education and training, employment or NEET were similar among young men and women.

Overall, the percentage of people from lower working-class backgrounds who were NEET was highest among the White and Black Caribbean ethnic groups (both 22%), and lowest among the Chinese and Indian ethnic groups (both 10%).

For young people from higher professional backgrounds, those in the Bangladeshi (66%) and Chinese (62%) ethnic groups were most likely to be in education and training out of all ethnic groups. White young people (34%) were least likely to be in education or training, but more likely to be in employment (57%).

Young people with a disability were much less likely to be in employment and much more likely to be NEET than those without a disability, across all socio-economic backgrounds.


By socio-economic background

Visualisation

Percentage of young people aged 16 to 24 years who were in education and training, employment or NEET, by socio-economic background (UK, 2022)

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Data

Percentage of young people aged 16 to 24 years who were in education and training, employment or NEET, by socio-economic background (UK, 2022)
Socio-economic background Employment (%) Education and training (%) NEET (%)
Higher professional 54.5 36.1 9.5
Lower professional 62.3 27.6 10.1
Intermediate 56.9 32.3 10.8
Higher working 58.9 28.4 12.7
Lower working 47.9 31.2 20.9
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    By sex

    Visualisation

    Percentage of young people aged 16 to 24 years in education and training, employment and NEET, by socio-economic background and sex (UK, 2014 to 2022 combined)

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    Data

    Percentage of young people aged 16 to 24 years in education and training, employment and NEET, by socio-economic background and sex (UK, 2014 to 2022 combined)
    Socio-economic background Sex Employment (%) Education and training (%) NEET (%)
    Higher professional Men 53.8 36.0 10.2
    Women 54.4 37.7 7.9
    Lower professional Men 58.1 30.5 11.4
    Women 58.3 32.1 9.6
    Intermediate Men 58.6 29.5 11.9
    Women 59.8 28.2 11.9
    Higher working Men 57.6 28.3 14.1
    Women 57.6 28.1 14.2
    Lower working Men 48.2 30.7 21.1
    Women 47.5 30.8 21.8
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    By ethnicity

    Visualisation

    Percentage of young people aged 16 to 24 from lower working-class and higher professional backgrounds in education and training, employment and NEET, by ethnic group (UK, 2014 to 2022 combined)

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    Data

    Percentage of young people aged 16 to 24 from lower working-class and higher professional backgrounds in education and training, employment and NEET, by ethnic group (UK, 2014 to 2022 combined)
    Ethnicity Socio-economic background Employment (%) Education and training (%) NEET (%)
    Bangladeshi Higher professional 24.1 65.7 10.2
    Lower working 35.6 49.5 14.9
    Chinese Higher professional 31.1 62.1 6.8
    Lower working 28.0 62.0 10.0
    Indian Higher professional 37.2 56.5 6.3
    Lower working 41.4 48.7 9.9
    Pakistani Higher professional 31.2 59.0 9.8
    Lower working 32.2 48.2 19.5
    Black African Higher professional 34.6 58.2 7.2
    Lower working 24.5 57.8 17.7
    Black Caribean Higher professional 40.5 49.4 10.1
    Lower working 41.3 36.8 21.9
    White Higher professional 56.6 34.2 9.2
    Lower working 51.2 26.5 22.3
    Other Higher professional 37.0 53.7 9.3
    Lower working 34.8 46.9 18.3
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    By disability status

    Visualisation

    Percentage of young people aged 16 to 24 years in education and training, employment, and NEET, by socio-economic background and disability (UK, 2014 to 2022 combined)

    Click or tap on legend items to toggle visibility

    Data

    Percentage of young people aged 16 to 24 years in education and training, employment, and NEET, by socio-economic background and disability (UK, 2014 to 2022 combined)
    Socio-economic background Disabled Employment (%) Education and training (%) NEET (%)
    Higher professional Yes 44.7 32.3 22.9
    No 55.0 37.2 7.8
    Lower professional Yes 39.4 31.6 29.0
    No 60.5 31.2 8.3
    Intermediate Yes 42.2 27.5 30.3
    No 61.1 29.1 9.8
    Higher working Yes 34.7 26.5 38.8
    No 60.3 28.4 11.3
    Lower working Yes 23.6 31.5 44.9
    No 53.2 30.6 16.3
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    About the data

    Data source

    Office for National Statistics, Labour Force Survey (LFS)

    Time period

    • 2022 (By socio-economic background)
    • 2014 to 2022 combined (By sex, ethnicity and disability status)

    Geographic area

    UK

    What the data measures

    The data shows the percentage of young people aged 16 to 24 years in the UK who were in education and training, employment or ‘NEET’ (not in employment, education or training).

    NEET is defined as not in employment, education or training in the week before the survey.

    Socio-economic background is based on the main earner’s occupation when the respondent was aged 14 years. Where there was no earner in the family, SEB is included in the lower working class.

    Things you need to know

    The data has not been updated since the publication of State of the Nation 2023.

    The data used is weighted using the LFS probability weights.

    For data by ethnicity, the estimated percentages shown are those for men. We show percentages only for those with lower working-class and higher professional backgrounds for illustrative purposes.

    For data by disability status, respondents were asked if they had a health condition or illness lasting 12 months or more, and if that condition reduced their ability to carry out day-to-day activities. This is consistent with the definition of disability in the Equality Act 2010.

    Type of data

    Survey data

    Full report

    Read more in State of the Nation 2023 on GOV.UK.


    Download the data

    Download full dataset (CSV, 28KB)

    This file contains the following variables:

    • Indicator code
    • Indicator name
    • Area type
    • Area code
    • Area name
    • Time period
    • Socio-economic background
    • Age
    • Sex
    • Category type
    • Category
    • Category type2
    • Category2
    • Value
    • Unit

    Page history

    Publication release date:

    12 September 2023