INDEPENDENCE is "the only way Scotland can escape", the SNP have argued in response to a new report warning of a “lost generation”.
A dossier from former Labour health secretary Alan Milburn warned that an estimated 1.01 million 16 to 24-year-olds in the UK were neither working nor learning in January-March this year, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
This is up from 957,000 in the previous three months and is the highest estimate for so-called Neets – "not in education, employment or training" – since October-December 2013, when the figure stood 1.04m.
ONS data for Neets begins in 2001 and shows the total peaked at 1.25m in July-September 2011.
The number was on a broad downwards trend in the years after 2011 and reached 750,000 in October-December 2019.
This decline came to a halt in 2020 – the start of the Covid-19 pandemic – though the figure did not begin to climb steadily until late 2022.
Of the estimated 1.01 million young people not in education, employment or training in January to March 2026, 613,000 were classed as economically inactive.
This is up 66,000 from 547,000 in October-December 2025 and is the highest number of people in this category since ONS data on Neets began in 2001.
Now, the SNP’s Alex Kerr MSP has said that only through a fresh start with independence can Scotland escape “broken Brexit Britain that is trapped in a doom loop".
“This report is yet another reminder that broken Brexit Britain is trapped in a doom loop with things only set to get worse for our young people," Kerr said.
"In Scotland we have near record levels of school leavers going into work, training or education, but our young people are being hammered by a Westminster-made cost of living that has spiralled out of control, compounded by Labour’s tax on jobs."
He went on to highlight SNP policies which the party believes are key to Scotland having a lower unemployment rate.
“Whether it be free university tuition, more apprenticeship opportunities, free bus travel or up to £10,000 for first time buyers – the SNP is on the side of our young people," Kerr said.
“Only through a fresh start of independence can we make decisions that empower our young people – that starts with re-joining the EU, putting Scotland’s energy in Scotland’s hands and driving forward our economy into a new age of prosperity.”
People are classed as economically inactive if they are of working age, not in employment, and not currently looking for work.
It is different from being unemployed, which refers to people with no job but who are actively seeking work.
The jump in the number of economically inactive Neets was driven mostly by an increase in males.
Young men aged 16-24 accounted for 53,000 of the rise of 66,000 in this category between October-December 2025 and January-March 2026, while young women accounted for only 13,000.
