Childhood poverty triples risk of becoming NEET, JRF analysis finds

Growing up in persistent poverty makes a young person three times more likely to end up not in education, employment or training (NEET), according to new research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF). The analysis, shared with Channel 4 News, suggests that the odds are stacked against many young people long before they start looking for work.

The UK has around one million 16 to 24 year olds classed as NEET. But the JRF study shows that for those who experienced poverty throughout childhood, the risk is drastically higher. Of those living in persistent poverty who were NEET at 17, more than half were still NEET at 23, indicating the effects can last for years.

The research comes as the number of children living in poverty in the UK stands at 4.5 million. The charity argues that this childhood disadvantage causes lasting damage, making it much harder for young people to break out of a cycle of unemployment and low income.

The report features personal accounts that illustrate the struggle. Shayla, 21, grew up in a household where her mother, a cleaner, struggled to pay rent and put food on the table. She says she was just trying to survive her environment and left college with no plan, suffering from anxiety and panic attacks. After her mother died suddenly last year, she says she lost her rock and now feels paralysed at the thought of work. She is hoping to find work as a cleaner, a job she sees as achievable and within her comfort zone.

Joseph, 24, has been NEET for nearly four years. He says poverty in childhood made life harder, limiting his opportunities and connections. He became homeless during the pandemic, which he says added extra layers to his search for work. He has completed work experience with railway companies and now wants to turn his love of trains into a job, but so far has faced rejection after rejection.

The young people interviewed reject the narrative that they are lazy or don't want to work. Joseph said, "I don't want to be in this situation. I don't want to be, you know, living on three and a quarter months. But I don't have a choice at the minute, because I'm at the mercy of the system." He said an email offering a job would make him cry, adding that with the right support he could flourish.

The JRF analysis is being used to argue for targeted interventions to help young people who have grown up in poverty, as well as to challenge the assumption that NEETs are simply unwilling to work. The charity says the findings show that childhood poverty leaves a lasting scar, and that support needs to be given earlier and more consistently to prevent young people from falling out of education and work.