The number of young people not in education, employment or training (Neet) across the UK fell below 1 million in the latest three-month period.

In a boost to the government’s efforts to reverse years of rising economic inactivity among people aged 16 to 24, the Office for National Statistics said its surveys showed there were an estimated 981,000 Neets in April to June, compared with 1,012,000 in January to March.

On an annual basis, the number of Neets was 30,000 higher than a year ago, but the fall covering the most recent three-month period will give a lift to ministers concerned that, at 13%, the proportion of young people outside work, education and training remains among the highest in Europe.

The TUC general secretary, Paul Nowak, said it was “a crisis” that almost 1 million young people were out of work. “The evidence is crystal clear – good quality employment support, more good training places and a strong growing economy with more vacancies is what we need,” he said.

Ben Harrison, the director of the Work Foundation at Lancaster University, cautioned that it would be “a mistake to assume” that the drop in Neets over the last quarter was a turning point.

“Although more young people are now looking for work than a year ago, they are doing so at a particularly difficult moment to take their first steps into the labour market,” he said. “Work Foundation research indicates the number of ‘starter’ jobs accessible to people entering work for the first time has fallen by 49% over the last decade, leaving only one starter vacancy for every three Neet young people nationally.”

Allen Simpson, the chief executive of UKHospitality, argued that the quickest and easiest way to stimulate the jobs market for young people was to “reduce the cost of employment”, to create job opportunities for young people.

Recent analysis has shown that employers are reluctant to hire young people, despite official figures showing the economy has expanded over the past year and company profits remain robust.

Some experts have blamed the use of artificial intelligence in some industries to perform tasks usually preserved for entry-level staff. They have also highlighted the rise in cases of mental illness among young people, following periods of isolation and time out from education during the Covid-19 pandemic.

A report this week by the Work Foundation found that more than one in three employers (36%) had reduced the number of entry-level jobs available to people aged 16-24 in the last 12 months.

However, the drop in the number of Neets by 30,000 in the most recent three-month figures will cheer the work and pensions minister, Pat McFadden, who this week described tackling youth unemployment as a “national cause”.

The government has commissioned the former health minister Alan Milburn to conduct a wide-ranging review of education, training and employment services for young people. He is expected to published his recommendations in the autumn.

McFadden said the Neet figures “underline why we are addressing youth inactivity as a priority”. He said: “We are determined to turn the tide on the youth unemployment crisis, which has been years in the making, with the number of Neets rising by 248,000 between 2021 and 2024.” He said the government was investing £2.5bn to “help create almost a million opportunities to earn or learn”.

The ONS said the annual increase of 30,000 was largely among young men, with an increase of 25,000 on the year. It said that of the total number of young people who were Neet, 530,000 were men and 451,000 were women.