Only 16% of English youth not pursuing higher education secured apprenticeships and just 23% landed stable jobs by age 20.
4,295 young people born in 2004 or 2005 were tracked from ages 15-16 to 19-20, with data collected in three waves from May 2021 to January 2025.
Temporary and casual work was associated with lower pay, poorer workplace relationships and less job design compared with apprenticeships or stable employment.
Young people who experienced mental health difficulties, unfair treatment or bullying at ages 15-16 were more likely to have poor relationships and less say at work at ages 19-20.
The proportion of youth not in education, employment or training (NEET) more than doubled from 4% at ages 17-18 to 10% at ages 19-20, with over 40% of those NEET at 17-18 remaining so two years later.
Despite common perceptions, about seven in ten NEET respondents were actively seeking work, education or engaged in volunteer or caregiving.
Asian and Black applicants for apprenticeships are less likely to secure places than white peers, and Black youth not in education are about 24 percentage points less likely to be in stable employment.
Policy priorities include expanding apprenticeships, tackling low pay, strengthening protections against oppressive work cultures, and increasing young people's autonomy and voice at work.