ALMOST one-third of unemployed youth in the country are in Sabah, said Reezal Merican Naina Merican.

“Sabah has 217,819 (30.6%) youths in the NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) category while Putrajaya only has 518 NEET youths,” the youth and sports minister said in a written reply to the Dewan Rakyat.

He said 37.4%, or 266,753, NEET youths across the country are male while 62.5% (444,897) are female.

The total number of NEET in the country in 2016 was 711,650, Reezal Merican, who is also Kepala Batas MP, said.

In 2018, this total jumped 7.6% to hit 765,841, he added.

“In 2018, Sabah still had the highest number of unemployed youth at 230,457 while Putrajaya was lowest with 623,” he said.

The level of unemployed female youth in 2018 was 61.8% (473,109).

Reezal said NEET refers to those aged between 15-24 years old who are unemployed and not pursuing their education. – November 19, 2020.