Almost one in seven working-age households have no workers in them

Almost one in seven working-age households have no workers in them – a rise of 56,000 in a year, figures reveal

  • There are 2.9 million households which have no one aged 16 to 64 working
  • READ MORE: Benefit claimants who refuse to take jobs will have handouts cut

Almost one in seven working-age households have no workers in them, which is a rise of 56,000 in a year, census data has revealed. 

There are 2.9 million homes that have no household member in work, data by the Office for National Statistics shows.

This number is up by 56,000 from the previous year and makes up 13.7 per cent of all households, which are defined as having at least one person aged 16 to 64 living there. 

Of an estimated 21.3 million households in the UK, 59.1 per cent of households had all household members aged 16 years and over in employment during January to March this year.

This means six in ten households are all workers, while the rest is either mixed employed – with at least one working and workless adult – or unemployed. 

There are 2.9 million homes which have no household member in work, data by the Office for National Statistics shows (file image)

The new data was published amid calls to get the five million people who are currently receiving out-of-work benefits back into employment.

Tory MP Sir Iain Duncan Smith said Covid was to blame for the high number of people on benefits and told the Sun: ‘We must get the remainder of people on sickness benefits on to Universal Credit so advisers can help them see what they can and can’t do. People who can work, must work.’

During the pandemic, benefit rules were relaxed but the Government’s Spring Budget set out a back-to-work strategy which will clamp down on sick notes and tighten rules that currently allow people not to have to look for work.

Nearly 400,000 people have quit the job market since 2020 due to long-term illness preventing them from working.

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