Economic well being

Homelessness

There are no official statistics for youth homelessness. However, in 2006-07, data on the scale of homelessness (which is limited to young people who are in contact with services) indicates that at least 75,000 young people experienced homelessness in the UK.

(Source: Youth Homelessness in the UK, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 2008).

In 2006-7, 6390 young people were accepted as homeless (young people are 16-17 year olds, or 18-20 year old care leavers). This is down from 8350 in 2005-6.

During 2006-7, 73,000 households were accepted as homeless and in priority need in England, 22 per cent less than 2005-6. Half (55%) of households that were accepted as being in priority need had dependent children.

(Source: Social Trends, No. 38, 2008)

Young people not in education, employment or training (NEET)

In 2007, there was a total of 189,000 young people aged 16-18 who were NEET, 0.2 percentage points lower than the same quarter last year. Of these, there were 45,000 16-year-olds, 58,000 17-year-olds and 86,000 18-year-olds.

(Source: NEET Statistics Quarterly Brief, DCSF, 2008).

In 2004, one in six (17%) of black young people and 6% of Asian young people were NEET at age 18, compared with one in eight (12%) of white young people.

(Source: Youth Cohort Study, Department for Education and Skills, 2004)

Further and higher education participation

At the end of 2005, 50,000 (76%) of 16-year-olds had gone on to full-time further education, an increase of 3% since the end of 2004. A higher proportion of young women than young men of this age were in full-time education (82% compared with 72%).

In 2005/06 there were 485,500 young people aged 16 to 24 on Work Based Learning schemes in England.

(Source: Social Trends, No. 37, 2007)

At end 2006, 89.7% of 16 year olds were participating in education and training, an increase of 0.9 percentage points from end 2005. The corresponding proportion at end 1994 was 90.8%. Participation in full-time education by 17 year olds was 65.0% at end 2006, an increase of 2.2 percentage points since end 2005.

At end of 2006, participation in full-time education by 18 year olds was 40.8%, an increase of 0.2% from end 2005. Participation in education and training at end 2006 was 61.1% compared to 61.5% at end 2005 and 60.9% at end 1994.

(Source: Participation in Education, Training and Employment by 16-18 Year Olds in England: 2005 and 2006 and Participation in Education and Training by 16 and 17 Year Olds in each Local Area in England: 2004 and 2005 - Department for Education and Skills, 2007).

At October 2006, there were an estimated 1.88 million learners in council-funded FE, of whom 688,000 were under the age of 19, an increase of 5% from October 2005. In 2006, an average of 22,000 young people were in learning on E2E programmes, which are aimed at young people aged 16-18 not yet ready or able to enter an Apprenticeship.

(Source: Further Education, Work-based Learning for Young People, Train to Gain and Adult and Community Learning - Learner Numbers in England, October 2006, Department for Education and Skills Statistical First Release, 2007)

In 2007, half of young people aged 10 to 15 said they had ambitions to go to university when they leave school.

(Source: TellUs2 survey, Ofsted, 2007).

Employment/unemployment

At September 2005, around 42% of unemployed people were under 25 years old. Young people aged 16 to 17-years-old accounted for 13% of the total number of unemployed people. Nearly a quarter (22.4 %) of 16-17-year-olds were unemployed, compared with 10.9 % of 18-24-year-olds.

(Source: National Statistics, Labour Market Review, 2006)

In 2007, over half (57% and 53% respectively) of 16 to 17-year-old young men and women were economically inactive (neither in employment nor unemployed), compared to 22% of 18 to 24-year-old men and between 28 and 31% of young women.

In 2007, 11% of unemployed 16 to 17-year-old young men and 5% of 16 to 17-year-old young women had been unemployed for mor than 12 months.

(Source: Social Trends, No. 38, 2008)

In 2006, around 40% of 14 to 15-year-olds had a regular job.

(Source: Young people into 2007, Schools Health Education Unit, 2007).

Transport

In 2006, nearly a quarter (20%) of 11-16-year-olds travelled to school by car and 38% travelled by bus.

37% of young men and 31% of young women aged 17 to 20 held a driving licence.

(Source: Social Trends, No. 38, 2008)

Around 5,000 children under the age of 16 die or are seriously injured on Britain's roads each year. A quarter of all 15-year-olds killed and seriously injured in road accidents are passengers in cars, with an under-21 driver.

(Source: AA Motoring Trust website)

Pocket money

In 2006, almost a third (29%) of 14-15 year olds reported receiving more than £10 in pocket money.

(Source: Young people into 2007, Schools Health Education Unit, 2007).

In 2007, a survey of 3,000 young people for MTV One found the average young person receives an allowance of up to £1,000 a year. 13-year-olds receive on average, £45 a month, this rises to £80 a month for 16-year-olds and £120 for 18-year-olds.

(Source: Guardian article 11/10/07)

In 2007, a survey by YouGov for Rainer of over 4,000 young people found that 90% were in debt by the age of 21. Almost half (46%) owed more than £2,000 and one in five had owed more than £10,000.

(Source: Why Do the Young Pay More? Young People, Debt and Financial Exclusion, Rainer, 2008)

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