One in five UK homes is jobless

A fifth of UK households have no adults in work, according to new figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The latest ONS report on work and worklessness shows that 3.9 million UK households have no one in employment, which is an increase of 148,000 on last year. This means 1.9 million children live in workless households.

The north east of England has the highest percentage of workless households, with 24% of homes in the region. This is closely followed by inner London and Wales at 23%. The south east has the lowest number of homes where no one works, at 14.2%.

Minister for employment Chris Grayling said the data showed that the current system is failing families (and so they are going to use a stick to get them back to work).

The government’s Work Programme plans to offer personalised support to people on a range of benefits, including Jobseeker’s Allowance, Income Support, Incapacity Benefit, and Employment and Support Allowance.

www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/pm/articles/2010/09/one-in-five-households-are-jobless-says-ons.htm