THE number of young people not in work, education or training (NEET) in Northern Ireland is sitting at 15,000, new figures show.
The NI Statistics & Research Agency said 16- to 24-year-olds classed as NEET in the three months to March was generally static at 7.5 per cent, which is lower than the overall UK figure of 9.5 per cent.
Of the 15,000 who were NEET, 8,000 were men and 7,000 were women.
Over the three-month period there were an estimated 12,000 young people aged 16 to 24 years in the north who were NEET and who were not looking for work and/or not available to start work (economically inactive).
The remainder of those who were not in education, employment or training were looking for work in the previous four weeks and available to start within the next two weeks (unemployed).
In the UK as a whole, there were an estimated 247,000 unemployed young people who were NEET - a record low.
The number of economically inactive young people classed as NEET was estimated to be 457,000, up by 25,000 on the quarter and up 43,000 on the year.
