St Helens Teen NEET Rate Surpasses UK and Regional Figures 2026

Key Points

• New Department for Education data shows that 5.7% of 16 and 17-year-olds in St Helens are NEET, meaning they are not in education, employment or training.
• The rate is higher than both the North West regional average and the England national average for the same age group.
• The figures were published in August 2026 as part of the latest local authority participation data.
• St Helens is among several local authority areas where NEET rates remain above national benchmarks.
• The data is part of the ongoing monitoring of post-16 participation across England.

St Helens (Liverpool standard ) August 27, 2026 – New Department for Education data shows 5.7% of 16 and 17-year-olds in St Helens are classified as NEET (not in education, employment or training), a figure that exceeds both the North West regional average and the England national average for the same age cohort. The statistics, published as part of the latest participation in education, training and NEET data by local authority, highlight the scale of the challenge facing the borough in ensuring young people remain engaged with education or employment pathways after compulsory schooling.

How does St Helens compare to regional and national NEET averages?

The 5.7% NEET rate for St Helens places the local authority above comparative benchmarks for both the North West region and England as a whole. According to the Department for Education’s annual brief on NEET statistics, the overall NEET rate for the 16 to 17 age group across England stands at approximately 4.0%, based on the latest Labour Force Survey estimates. This means St Helens’ figure is notably higher than the national picture for this age group.

The variation in NEET rates across local authorities in England is substantial. As reported in government statistics, NEET or “activity not known” rates at the end of 2025 and start of 2026 ranged from 0.0% in the City of London to 49.3% in North Lincolnshire, though the latter figure should be treated with caution due to technical and processing issues in the reporting period. St Helens’ position above both regional and national averages indicates the borough faces particular challenges in supporting young people through the transition from compulsory education to further education, training or employment.

What does NEET mean and why is it measured?

NEET stands for “not in education, employment or training” and is a standard classification used by the Office for National Statistics and the Department for Education to identify young people who are not engaged in any form of recognised education, employment or training activity. Anyone who is not enrolled on an education course, not doing an apprenticeship, not on a government-supported employment or training programme, and not in employment is considered to be NEET.

The measure is significant because young people identified as NEET will always be either unemployed or economically inactive, according to ONS definitions. Monitoring NEET rates allows local authorities, regional bodies and national government to track how effectively young people are being supported to remain in education or move into employment or training after the age of 16, when participation in education or training becomes voluntary in England.

What do the latest national NEET statistics show?

The latest ONS release on young people not in education, employment or training, published in August 2026, shows that an estimated 13.0% of all people aged 16 to 24 years in the UK were NEET in April to June 2026. This proportion was up by 0.2 percentage points from April to June 2025, but down by 0.5 percentage points from January to March 2026. The total number of young people aged 16 to 24 classified as NEET stood at approximately 981,000 in the April to June quarter, a fall of 30,000 compared to the first quarter of the year.

For the 16 to 17 age group specifically, the Department for Education’s NEET statistics annual brief indicates the latest estimate for NEET is 4.0%, with the overall NEET rate for this age group having decreased by 0.5 percentage points in the latest year. The St Helens figure of 5.7% for 16 and 17-year-olds therefore sits above this national benchmark for the younger end of the NEET age spectrum.

What factors contribute to variation in NEET rates across local authorities?

Government analysis has noted that variation in NEET rates across local authorities is not explained by local labour market conditions alone. Differences in how young people are tracked and supported by local authorities, schools and post-16 providers also play a significant role in determining the proportion of young people who become classified as NEET or whose activity status becomes “not known”.

The Department for Education and Ofsted have jointly funded research to identify and describe practice that has been effective in supporting 16 to 18-year-olds to remain in education, training and employment, preventing them from becoming disengaged, and supporting re-engagement for those who have already become NEET. This work reflects ongoing policy attention to understanding what drives differences in outcomes for young people across different local authority areas.

What support is available for young people at risk of becoming NEET?

Local authorities in England have statutory duties to promote participation in education and training for 16 and 17-year-olds and to identify young people who are not in education, employment or training. The Department for Education provides local authority management information on participation and NEET, including ethnicity and special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) figures, to support targeted intervention.

The latest government publications on evaluating effective strategies for young people at risk of becoming NEET indicate ongoing work to identify which approaches have been most successful in keeping young people engaged with education, employment or training pathways. Local authorities use this evidence base to shape their own support offers for young people at risk of disengagement.

Background: How has NEET policy developed in recent years?

The measurement and monitoring of NEET rates has been a feature of UK labour market and education statistics for more than two decades. The classification emerged from policy concern about young people who were not captured by traditional unemployment measures because they were not actively seeking work, yet were also not engaged in education or training that would improve their long-term employment prospects.

In England, the raising of the participation age to 18, implemented in stages between 2013 and 2015, required all young people to continue in some form of education or training until their 18th birthday, though this could include part-time education or training combined with employment or volunteering. This policy change placed greater emphasis on local authorities and schools to track young people’s participation and to intervene where there was a risk of disengagement.

The Department for Education has published annual NEET statistics briefs drawing on Labour Force Survey data, providing estimates for England and allowing comparison across regions and local authorities. The most recent brief, published in March 2026, covered data up to the end of 2025 and showed the overall NEET rate for 16 to 24-year-olds in England at 13.3%, representing over one in eight young people in that age range.

Prediction: How might elevated NEET rates affect young people and the local economy in St Helens?

Elevated NEET rates among 16 and 17-year-olds in St Helens, if sustained, could have implications for both individual young people and the wider local economy. Research has consistently shown that extended periods out of education, employment or training in the late teenage years are associated with poorer long-term employment outcomes, lower earnings and reduced wellbeing.

For the borough, a NEET rate above the national average may indicate that a larger proportion of the future working-age population is at risk of economic inactivity or unstable employment patterns. This could affect local productivity and place greater demand on public services supporting young people to re-engage with education or employment.

Conversely, the publication of local authority-level NEET data provides St Helens Council and local education and training providers with evidence to target support more effectively. The Department for Education’s participation statistics, which include breakdowns by ethnicity and SEND status, allow for more granular analysis of which groups of young people are most at risk of becoming NEET. If local interventions are successful in reducing the NEET rate over time, this could improve both individual outcomes for young people in St Helens and the overall skills profile of the local workforce.