A life course perspective on the NEET phenomenon: long-term exclusion across cohorts, gender, and social origin among young adults in Norway

This study addresses the limitations of the NEET indicator (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) as a measure of the risk of social exclusion.Applying a life course analytical framework and sequence analysis to administrative data from Norway, we investigate the link between NEET status and longer-term exclusion across cohorts, gender, and social origin.Young adults with at least one year of NEET status at ages 22-25 (N = 125 804) are followed for ten years (age 22-31), spanning the years 1993-2017.Results show a mixed picture for individuals with earlycareer NEET status: 38 percent fare well over the long term, while over one-third face persistent challenges of long-term exclusion or reliance on permanent disability benefits.A deterioration of longer-term prospects, stronger among men…