A fall in the number of young people not in education, employment or training could be reversed because of the virus crisis, union leaders are warning.

Official figures showed there were an estimated 765,000 young people aged 16-24 who were not in education, employment or training (NEET) in the three months to June, a fall of 28,000 compared with the same period a year ago.

The figure was 6,000 lower than January to March, said the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said protecting jobs remained vital, adding: “There’s a danger that progress could be reversed following the pandemic if the government does not take the action needed.

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“Young people work in higher numbers in hard-hit sectors like arts, leisure and retail. We need the government to look at job retention support beyond October for businesses that can’t yet fully operate but still have a viable future.

“For young people without work, the Kickstart programme will help. But there must be a role for unions in the scheme to make sure that the jobs on offer are good quality.

“There needs to be an education and training guarantee for young people, too, so they have the option to improve their skills either at college or through an apprenticeship.”

The percentage of all young people in the UK who were NEET in April to June was estimated at 11.1 per cent, down by 0.3 per cent compared with a year ago and down by 0.1 per cent compared with January to March.

Of all young people in the UK who were NEET in April to June 2020, an estimated 39 per cent were looking for, and available for, work and classified as unemployed.

The remainder were either not looking for work and/or not available for work and were classified as economically inactive, said ONS.