Share of youth not in education, employment or training, total in North America
North America: Share of youth not in education, employment or training, total was 11.8% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Share of youth not in education, employment or training, total in North America, 1994–2025
Source: Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO). Measured in % of youth population.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of youth not in education, employment or training, total in North America is 11.8%, measured in 2025.
The figure is up 0.2% on the previous year and down 6.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of youth not in education, employment or training, total in North America peaked at 15.4% in 1994 and was at its lowest, 10.6%, in 2019.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 32 years of available data.
Share of youth not in education, employment or training, total in North America, year by year
| Year | % of youth population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 15.4% | — |
| 1995 | 15.1% | -1.9% |
| 1996 | 14.6% | -3.8% |
| 1997 | 13.6% | -6.4% |
| 1998 | 12.9% | -5.2% |
| 1999 | 12.6% | -2.1% |
| 2000 | 12.5% | -0.8% |
| 2001 | 13.0% | +3.5% |
| 2002 | 13.4% | +3.4% |
| 2003 | 13.6% | +1.2% |
| 2004 | 13.1% | -3.2% |
| 2005 | 13.1% | -0.2% |
| 2006 | 12.4% | -5.2% |
| 2007 | 12.3% | -1.4% |
| 2008 | 13.0% | +5.8% |
| 2009 | 14.9% | +15.1% |
| 2010 | 15.1% | +1.0% |
| 2011 | 14.3% | -5.2% |
| 2012 | 13.8% | -3.2% |
| 2013 | 14.2% | +2.9% |
| 2014 | 13.4% | -5.9% |
| 2015 | 12.5% | -6.6% |
| 2016 | 12.1% | -3.4% |
| 2017 | 11.1% | -8.5% |
| 2018 | 11.0% | -0.3% |
| 2019 | 10.6% | -4.3% |
| 2020 | 14.3% | +35.1% |
| 2021 | 12.3% | -14.1% |
| 2022 | 11.3% | -8.0% |
| 2023 | 11.2% | -0.3% |
| 2024 | 11.7% | +4.4% |
| 2025 | 11.8% | +0.2% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of youth not in education, employment or training, total in North America changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +35.1% | 10.6% | 14.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 14.0% | 12.6% | 15.4% | 6 |
| 2000s | 13.1% | 12.3% | 14.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 12.8% | 10.6% | 15.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 12.1% | 11.2% | 14.3% | 6 |
Countries ranked near North America
More work & labour data for North America
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages) 56.8% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15+) 62.0% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15+) 67.3% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, female (%) 51.6% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, male (%) 52.4% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, total (%) 52.0% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15-64) 78.8% (2025)
- Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) 84.4% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages) 69.8% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages) 74.4% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of youth not in education, employment or training, total in North America?
- Share of youth not in education, employment or training, total in North America was 11.8% in 2025, according to Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO).
- What is the highest share of youth not in education, employment or training, total recorded in North America?
- The highest recorded value was 15.4% in 1994.
- What is the lowest share of youth not in education, employment or training, total recorded in North America?
- The lowest recorded value was 10.6% in 2019.
- How does North America rank for share of youth not in education, employment or training, total?
- North America ranks 14th out of 19 groups with data for 2025.
- Is share of youth not in education, employment or training, total rising or falling in North America?
- Over the last ten years it is down 6.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this North America data come from?
- The figures come from Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO), published as part of Share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of youth population). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
The share of youth not in education, employment or training (also known as “the NEET rate”) conveys the number of young persons not in education, employment or training as a percentage of the total youth population. Youth not in education are those who were neither enrolled in school nor in a formal training program (e.g. vocational training). For the purposes of this indicator, youth is defined as all persons between the ages of 15 and 24 (inclusive).