More than one in 10 UK teenagers has been left without a job or college place, despite 11 years of compulsory education, figures show.

The number of 16- to 18-year-olds branded as “Neet” – not in education, employment or training – has risen amid growing fears that school-leavers are bearing the brunt of job shortages in the recession.

Some 261,000 young people had no job or training place, according to official data. The figure rose to 1,082,000 among 16- to 24-year-olds.

The Conservatives branded the figures “shocking”.

David Willetts, the shadow skills secretary, said: "It is a damning indictment of the Government's failure to help young people during the recession.

“Despite all Gordon Brown's guarantees and pledges, the number of young people neither earning nor learning is increasing at a rate of more than 9,000 a week. Ministers must stop making empty gestures that do so little to help young people.”

The Government has a target to reduce the proportion of young Neets to 7.6 per cent by next year.

The latest annual data from the Department for Children, Schools and Families put the figure at 10.3 per cent by the end of 2008.

The percentage of 16 to 18-year-olds who fall into the same bracket remained higher in the past year than in the previous 12 months, it was revealed.

In a further disclosure, figures for the third quarter of this year show almost a fifth of 16 to 24-year-olds were in the category – more than at any point since 2005.

Iain Wright, the Schools Minister, said: "We are giving all 16 and 17-year-olds the opportunity to stay in education or training so they can gain the skills they need to succeed in an increasingly competitive labour market.

"We must not repeat the mistakes that were made in recessions of the past and abandon a whole generation of young people. We recognise that we need to carry on helping young people through this tough economic climate."

He said the Government would offer every Neet 16 and 17-year-old a place on an “Entry to Employment” course in January.

最新数据显示，英国超过十分之一的青少年毕业后没有工作或继续读大学——尽管他们已接受了十一年的义务教育。

这些既没读书、也没工作或接受任何培训的16岁至18岁的青少年被称为“啃老族”。随着“啃老族”群体的日趋壮大，人们越来越担心这些辍学者在经济衰退时期会首当其冲受到就业岗位减少的影响。

根据英国官方统计数据，目前英国约有21.6万青年没有工作或接受培训。在16至24岁的人群中，这一数字为108.2万。

英国保守党称这一数据“令人震惊”。

英国影子内阁的教育技能大臣大卫•威利茨说：“这是政府在经济衰退时期没能很好地帮助年轻人所酿成的严重后果。”

“尽管戈登•布朗首相做出了各种保证和承诺，但既没有工作也没在读书的年轻人的数量正以每周九千多人的速度增长。政府官员们不要再开这种毫无意义的空头支票了。”

英国政府计划到明年将年轻的啃老族比例减至7.6%。

英国儿童、学校和家庭部的最新年度统计数据显示，截至2008年年底，英国的啃老族比例达10.3%。

此外，过去一年16岁至18岁年龄段中的啃老族比例仍高于此前一年。

更多数据显示，今年第三季度，在16岁至24岁的年轻人中，近五分之一的人是啃老族，创2005年以来最高水平。

英国学校事务大臣伊恩•怀特说：“我们将为所有16岁至17岁的青少年提供接受教育或培训的机会，以让他们获得所需技能，在竞争日益激烈的就业市场中立于不败之地。”

“我们绝不能重复以往经济危机时期所犯的错误，荒废整整一代年轻人。我们认识到必须继续帮助年轻人度过经济困难时期。”

他表示，政府将于明年1月为16岁至17岁的啃老族提供“进入职场”培训。