Youth unemployment risks diminishing the potential of young people and denting their long-term job prospects. But it could also be costing the economy billions in lost GDP.

According to new calculations from the Youth Employment Group (YEG), reducing the number of young people not in education, employment, or training (NEET) to the same levels as the Netherlands could generate £69 billion in GDP.

More than 790,000 young people are currently NEET, a 23% rise over the last two years [2]. This equates to 12.5% of all British young people across the UK, a figure that rises to 13.8% when looking at England alone. The YEG points to The Netherlands, the country boasting the lowest figure in the OECD (4.4%) [3], as the example to follow. In a bid to reduce unemployment and protect the life chances of young people, the YEG has today
launched the “Young Person’s Guarantee”. If adopted by policymakers in England, young people under the age of 25 will receive support to access employment, training, or education within four months of leaving employment or formal education.

Read the joint letter to the Prime Minister, note – signed by MtW.

Read more here.