Londoners not in education, employment or training (NEETs) face uncertainty after Chancellor John Healey’s Budget did not address the youth employment crisis.
A quarter of all Londoners aged 18–24 are NEETs, and while dedicating the budget to the “young person desperate to start a new job”, Healey announced no new policy measures for this group.
According to the ONS, the total number of NEETs in the UK is now touching one million with Londoners among the most acutely affected.
Baz Ramaiah, Policy and Research Director of non-profit Youth Employment UK, said: “London faces a unique youth unemployment challenge.
“Young people in the city are more likely to be unemployed compared to any other region in England.”
Healey said policy announcements will follow the recommendations of the Milburn report on youth unemployment, due to be published next month.
It is expected that the government will cut welfare spending for young people in favour of greater investment in training, apprenticeships and employment support.
Healey told the House of Commons: “We will bring down the welfare bill and we will do it in a Labour way.”
According to the Nuffield Trust, over 205,000 people aged 16–24 received personal independence payment (PIP) from the government in April 2026 – more than three times the 2019 figure.
But according to the think tank New Economic Foundation (NEF), simply removing welfare from young people will not adequately address the problem.
Kamran Malekzai, assistant researcher at NEF, said: “In some areas there simply are no jobs available to young people. The scale of the NEETs crisis demands a policy response to match.
“The government must immediately scale up its jobs guarantee, giving young people a paid first chance, and support young people with the costs of participating in work and training.”
Youth Employment UK backed these calls for greater investment in employment support, arguing that getting young Londoners into work placements is a key solution to the crisis.
Ramaiah said: “Part of the explanation here is a lack of access to work experience.
“Young Londoners are 12 percent more likely than the national average to say a lack of experience is their main barrier to employment.
“It is vital that London creates a permanent, cross-city Youth Participation System that creates opportunities for young people.”
Featured image credit: Ellen Kerbey
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