Department for Work and Pensions
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Almost one in five households across the UK is workless
No one works in almost one out of five households across the UK, according to new figures published by the Office for National Statistics today.
The latest work and worklessness figures reveal that there are 3.9 million UK households where no adults work, an increase of 148,000 on last year, with 1.9 million children living in workless households.
The North East has the highest percentage of workless households with 24.3 per cent of homes in the region; this is closely followed by Inner London and Wales at 22.9 per cent. The South East has the lowest number of homes where no one works at 14.2 per cent.
Minister for Employment Chris Grayling said:
"These figures are a further indictment of how the current system is failing families and is a shocking reflection of the scale of worklessness across the UK that this Government has inherited.
"Some areas of Britain are suffering from intergenerational worklessness, which is why we must act now to ensure that children living in workless households are not left behind like their parents have been.
"This is why we are pushing ahead with our Work Programme, which will give people who are out of work and need a job the right support at the right time so that they can get into employment."
The Work Programme will offer personalised support to people on a range of benefits, including Jobseeker’s Allowance, Income Support, Incapacity Benefits and Employment and Support Allowance.
Note to Editors:
- The Work and Worklessness among Households 2010 figures are published today by the Office for National Statistics and are available at: www.statistics.gov.uk
Media Enquiries: 0203 267 5108/5129
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Website: www.dwp.gov.uk
