Young people not in employment, education or training: What did they do in the past 12 months?

Released: 2019-02-13

There is growing interest in the activities of young people who are not working, in school or training, in particular, the extent to which they are volunteering or serving in their community. Helping others is an important way to stay active and engaged.

As part of a one-time special supplement to the Labour Force Survey in September, young people aged 15 to 29 without a long-term illness were asked two questions about their volunteer work for a group or organization, and any other assistance provided to others of their own initiative without pay.

Data show that about 3 in 10 young people aged 15 to 29 who were not in employment, education or training (NEET) in September 2018 had done at least some amount of volunteering for a group or organization in the previous 12 months. Few reported that this was their main activity.

The majority (52.6%) of young people who were not in employment, education or training in September had worked or attended school as their main activity in the previous 12 months.

Physical or mental health problems prevented about 1 in 10 NEET youth (11.5%) from working, going to school, or having another main activity.

Caring for children was reported as a common main activity among women aged 25 to 29 (38.8%) who were not in employment, education or training.

For more information, the article "Young people not in employment, education or training: What did they do in the past 12 months?" examines the activities during the 12 months prior to September 2018 for young people aged 15 to 29. In September 2018, 11.3% of young Canadians aged 15 to 29 were NEET.

Products

The article "Young people not in employment, education or training: What did they do in the past 12 months?" is now available online in the Labour Statistics at a Glance series (Catalogue number71-222-X).

The infographic "Young people not working, in school or training: What were they doing?" is also now available.

Contact information

For more information, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; STATCAN.infostats-infostats.STATCAN@canada.ca).

To enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Rachelle Pelletier (613-415-4867; rachelle.pelletier@canada.ca) or Emmanuelle Bourbeau (613-951-3007; emmanuelle.bourbeau@canada.ca).