While many young people successfully transition from school to tertiary education and work, there is a significant group who face persistent barriers which prevent them reaching their education and employment goals. This is a long-standing and multi-faceted policy challenge with intergenerational consequences.

An area where we can usefully improve our information is around young people’s experience of limited employment. Limited employment provides a broader concept than the existing standard measure of ‘not in education, employment or training’ (NEET). Limited employment captures a range of activities and situations where young people have no or limited connections to full-time, well-paid employment, or to education that is likely to move them into such employment. It also identifies where this persists over time, rather than only at points in time.

Understanding limited employment and its prevalence provides a starting point for identifying the persistent barriers which can prevent young people from reaching their goals and aspirations.

The purpose of this report is to extend the information we have on young people’s experience of limited employment. It looks at who experiences limited employment, and the pathways young people follow in and out of limited employment.

The report also looks at factors that are associated with being in limited employment for longer periods of time. This analysis highlights a complex array of interrelated factors that influence young people’s lives. They cover socio-economic disadvantage in childhood, poor experiences of education and later-life experiences.