Rachel Reeves says a MILLION young people being 'at home doing nothing' is a 'stain on our country'
Rachel Reeves has admitted that having nearly a million young people not in employment, education or training is a 'stain on our country'.
The Chancellor said it is 'crucial' that the Government tackles the issue of 18-24 year-olds wasting the 'best time of their lives' at home 'doing nothing'.
The comments, during a fireside chat at a manufacturing conference in London, come after grim figures last week showed more than one in eight 16-24 year-olds are so called 'NEETs'.
The numbers surged to 987,000 in October to December, up from 877,000 a year earlier.
That is equivalent to 13.4 per cent of the total population in the age bracket, an increase of 1.3 percentage points.
The rise fuelled alarm about the impact of Labour's Budget tax hikes, with businesses warning they are cutting back on staff even before they take effect.
Ms Reeves said there was a 'crucial need to open opportunities for people', pointing to moves to widen access to apprenticeships for young people who had not made English and maths GCSE grades.
'We've got a million young people today who are not in education, employment or training,' Ms Reeves said.
'It is a stain on our country that we are allowing a million people at what should be the best time of their lives to get skills, to make friends, to build confidence, that they are sitting at home doing often nothing.'
The ONS said last week that 14.4 per cent of young men and 12.3 per cent of young women were NEET.
The former saw a bump of 56,000 on the year, while the later rose 53,000.
Of the total number of young people who were NEET, 542,000 were young men and 445,000 were young women.
Stephen Evans, chief executive at the Learning and Work Institute, said when the figures were released that they may 'signal further trouble ahead in the absence of economic growth, and highlights the importance of implementing a youth guarantee so all young people are offered a job, training place or apprenticeship'.
Rachel Reeves, youth engagement, community impact, mental health, economic impact, national issues, job creation, UK politics, youth issues, social issues, youth unemployment, public policy, unemployment, education, activism, political commentary, government policy
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