Almost a million young people are not in school, college or work, Government statistics have shown.
One in six 16 to 24-year-olds (16.2%) are now considered "Neet" - not in education, employment or training, according to figures published by the Department for Education (ffE).
In total, 979,000 young people were classed as "Neet" in the second quarter of this year.
This is 107,000 more youngsters than in the same quarter last year, and an extra 126,000 compared to the same period five years ago.
The statistics also show that many teenagers are leaving school with few prospects.
Almost one in 10 (9.8%) 16 to 18-year-olds, around 186,000 in total, were not in any type of work or education in the second quarter of this year.
This has dropped slightly from the same point in 2010, the data shows.
The new figures come just a week after Government figures showed that the youth unemployment rate (for 16 to 24-year-olds) has soared to 20.2%, up 0.2 percentage points from the three months to March.
Skills minister John Hayes insisted: "We're taking action to get our young people into work, helping restore a sense of responsibility and pride in our communities.
"Having built the largest apprenticeships programme our country has seen, we'll now do more to get young people who lack basic skills up to speed."
