Not in education, employment or training (NEET)

16 to 17 year olds not in education, employment or training (NEET)

Performance data is collected in respect of young people aged 16 to 17 years not in education, employment or training (NEET).  The most recent information that we have is for the county (Lancashire-12) as a whole and its 12 constituent districts for the period between December 2024 and February 2025.

Please note that Lancashire's counting methodology changed in September 2016. Before then, all 16-18 year olds were counted, however since September 2016, only 16-17 year olds have been counted.

Key points for the Lancashire-12 area, December 2024 to February 2025

• 3.9% of young people in Lancashire-12 were categorised as NEET. This was lower than the regional rate of 4.3% and the respective neighbouring authority rates (4.7% in Blackburn with Darwen and 7.6% in Blackpool), however was higher than the national rate of 3.4%.
• Within Lancashire-12, the percentage of 16-17 year olds who are NEET varies between districts, from 2.2% in Ribble Valley to 4.8% in Chorley.
• In 2024/25, the number and proportion of NEET in Lancashire-12 increased by 0.8 percentage points (pp). NEET numbers increased in all Lancashire-12 districts, with Fylde increasing to 3.1% (increase by 0.1 pp). Wyre and Rossendale increased to 3.0% and South Ribble increased to 4.0%, all three increasing by 0.2 pp.  There was a notable increase for Chorley, Lancaster and Burnley, with Chorley and Lancaster increasing by 1.2 pp and Burnley increasing by 1.3 pp.
• The percentage and number of young people in education, employment or training (EET) remained stable in Lancashire-12 overall at 93.6% (Table 2). The proportion of EET rose in three of the Lancashire-12 districts, with percentages ranging from 94.8% in Fylde to 94.9% in Rossendale.
• The percentage of instances where it was not known whether young people were involved in education, employment or training decreased in Lancashire-12 in 2024/25 to 2.54%. Lancashire-12 saw increases in two of its districts, with the highest increase being in Pendle (up to 3.91%, an increase of 1.51 pp) and the smallest increase being in Chorley (up to 2.72%, an increase of 0.32 pp). The rest of Lancashire-12 saw decreases, with the largest decrease being in Rossendale (down to 2.08%, a decrease of 1.12 pp) and the smallest decrease being in Burnley (down to 2.76%, a decrease of 0.14 pp).

The Department for Education website provides statistics on young persons aged 16- and 17-year-old who are NEET. Local data has been provided by the Child and Family Well-being Service (Young People's Service) for recent years. 

Children and young people dashboard 

The children and young people dashboard created as part of the Neighbourhood JSNA, now includes district and ward level data for KS2/ KS4/ Pupil Absence/ Exclusions/ NEET. This resource can be accessed here.

 Page updated 13 November 2025.