157,000 young are now Neets

There are more young people not in school, work or training in the North-West than any other region.

There are now 157,000 young people aged 16 to 24-years-old dubbed “Neets” (not in education, employment, or training) in the region at the end of March this year up from 138,000 in March 2011.

Neets are often seen as being typified by the teenage delinquent Vicky Pollard in hit TV comedy 'Little Britain', although many could be between jobs, on gap years or young mothers looking after children.

The figures from the Department for Education show nationally 954,000 young people were not in education, employment or training in the first three months of the year compared with 925,000 in the same quarter last year.

A Government spokesman said: “The number has been too high for too long.

“We are driving up standards right across the schools system to bring the numbers down.

“We are investing almost £1 billion in the Youth Contract to support 16-24-year-olds into education, training and work.

“We are creating the biggest apprenticeships programme our country has ever seen and have launched the National Careers Service to provide expert advice.

“We are also overhauling vocational education, so all employers can be confident about the skills of our young people and the rigour of our qualifications.”

The North-West suffers the highest number of Neets, followed by Yorkshire and Humber, with the North-East recording the lowest count.