WIREDGOV

New research shows more couples in work and better off

DEPARTMENT FOR WORK AND PENSIONS News Release (Reference EMP-047) issued by The Government News Network on 13 November 2007

More couples are in work and better off, according to new research by the DWP. The proportion of 'work-rich' couples (where both partners are in work) has increased from 57% in 1994/5 to 67% in 2005/6.

In contrast, the proportion of 'work-poor' couples (where both partners are unemployed or inactive) has fallen from 14% to 8% for the same period. The new findings also show that the incomes for all groups, including those with children, have increased in real terms by as much as £175 per week.

Minister for Employment and Welfare Reform Caroline Flint said:

"This research shows how initiatives introduced over the last ten years - such as the national minimum wage, tax credits and the 'New Deal' programmes - have been hugely successful in helping more people into work so that they and their children can lead happier and healthier lives.

"Work is the best way out of poverty for parents and their children, which is why we have set out plans to help even more people access the 660,000 job vacancies that exist.

"At the heart of these plans is the ground-breaking 'Local Employment Partnership' scheme, which involves some of the country's biggest companies pledging to offer guaranteed job interviews to 250,000 long-term benefit claimants who are ready and prepared to work over the next three years. Over 200 employers have already committed to this scheme."

Some of the key findings of the research show that from 1994/5 to 2005/6:

* The proportion of work-rich couples increased from 57% to 67%

* The proportion of work-poor couples decreased from 14% to 8%

* The average gross weekly income for work-rich couples increased in real terms from £777 to £952

* The proportion of couples with dependent children where at least one partner was in work increased from 89% to 94%.

* The proportion of couples with dependent children where both partners were in work increased from 57% to 66%.

Notes to Editors

1. The research appears in the November edition of the Economic and Labour Market Review journal, published by the Office for National Statistics. http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/article.asp?id=1887

2. The researchers used the Family Resources Survey (FRS) to examine the employment trends of couples between 1994/5 and 2005/6. They looked at couples with and without dependent children, and differences in gross income and benefit receipt between work-rich couples and work-poor couples and single-earner couples (where only one partner is employed).

3. For further information contact Eltan Halil in the DWP press office on 0203 267 5123.

Website http://www.dwp.gov.uk